


Intention's Eye

by hunter139



Series: hunter 139's multiverse of stories [6]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, Mass Effect - All Media Types, Metroid Series, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Lower Deck Episode, Minor Original Character(s), Minor tie in to the Omega Chronicles, Mostly OC cast, Multiverse, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Prequel to Atmos Campaign, Violence, not my best work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:55:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29338659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunter139/pseuds/hunter139
Summary: It's been said that one minor conflict matters little in the grand scheme of things. That it's a footnote in history. Tell that to those worlds that have been ravaged by such brutal fighting. Multicrossover
Series: hunter 139's multiverse of stories [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1467655





	1. Signals and Preparations

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is a Crossover fanfiction that mainly features Original Characters. There may be some references to the characters from canon, but for the most part, the focus is on these OCs.
> 
> In regards to plot and character names, I've taken some inspiration from other fics, including but not limited to, In the Shadow of Gods, Outcast Effect, and the Enemy of my Enemy. If you haven't read any of them, I would highly recommend it.

In the depths of space, a lone cruiser emerged from FTL, heading into orbit over a desert planet. The ship, known as the _Deliverance_ , was crewed by the mercenaries of CAT6, who were currently on a long term mission to find useful salvage and resources.

On the ship's CIC, Commander Lela Sato sighed as she looked over the new data that had come in. They had picked up an odd signal coming from the planet's surface, and near the signal's location, an unusual storm had broken out in the atmosphere.

"We've arrived in orbit." The helmsman called out, clad in merc armor. Sato nodded.

"Begin deep scans and get the probes deployed."

As her crew made to follow her orders, she barely paid attention, her mind drifting back to the things that had happened in her life. Previously, she had been an N7, one of the best in the Alliance Military. Of her class, only one person had scored higher than her: John Shepard.

She seethed at the thought of that bastard, that... self-righteous alien-loving traitor. She had wanted nothing more than to drive an omniblade through his skull. To prove that she was the better combatant, and with her biotics, that should've been easy.

Unfortunately, the Alliance discharged her early in her service, for being "mentally unstable." She snorted inwardly; that was the thanks she got for killing those alien spies. Those cowards in the Alliance didn't want her talents, which was their loss.

Even Cerberus refused to have anything to do with her, which infuriated Sato to no end. So she ended up joining with the CAT6 mercenary organization, and eventually she ended up helping Maya Brook's campaign to rid the galaxy of Shepard.

She didn't care that Shepard was the hero of the Reaper War. She didn't care that the attempt by CAT6 to help Shepard's clone kill him hadn't worked. She was glad that those attempts had failed, as she was the one who deserved to kill Shepard herself.

Of course, the events after the Reaper war had made that goal almost completely unattainable, especially now, due to Shepard's alliance with-

"Uh, ma'am? We're picking up unusual readings on the planet's surface."

"Define unusual," She quietly whispered, biotic aura glowing as she was pulled out of her musings. She really hated when her subordinates interrupted her train of thought.

"Well," The sensor officer said carefully, "The storm is outputting some strange readings, but that's not the weird part. Scans are detecting energy signals from on the ground."

When the image had resolved, several of the bridge crew gasped, while she smiled and turned to her two guards.

"Prepare the forces for ground combat." She ordered her two guards, who left the room. Then she turned to the comm operator. "And contact the rest of our fleet. That ship will be ours."

The image showed a mostly intact five kilometer long silver-white alien vessel crashed into a mountain range, with a prominent whale-like shape, and hooked bow.

* * *

As the CAT6 cruiser descended into the atmosphere, another ship emerged from FTL. Unlike the human designed cruiser, this ship was all soft curves and silver-white showcasing the traditional aesthetics of the asari.

On board the ship's bridge, the all-asari crew observed the readings they had recieved, showing the CAT6 ship, and the target they were descending towards. These were the mercenaries of the Athame Sisters, an all-asari PMC headed by an ex-Council Spectre named D'ranna T'iala, an asari supremacist at heart.

The Sisters had been tracking a strange alien signal which seemed to originate from this planet, and now that they were in orbit, the asari now learned where it had originated from: a world that once held the last remnants of the Geth Heretic faction.

The bridge crew were in awe at the sight of the massive crashed warship, and ecstatic to realize that this bounty of technology would belong to them. D'ranna on the other hand, was more concerned with the immediate situation.

"Have the humans detected our arrival?" She questioned the sensor operator.

"Quite likely." The operator replied. "It's possible that the storm is scrambling their sensors, but it's extremely unlikely that they didn't detect our arrival."

D'ranna paused, taking a moment to process this information. Then she turned to the ship's weapon officer.

"Can we target their ship from here?"

"Not without risking damage to the crash site." The officer replied. "If we open fire now, we could destroy any functioning technology that's left."

"Pity." D'ranna muttered. "Prepare the shuttles and Mantises. We'll show these humans what it means to take on asari commandos."

Cheering erupted from the bridge before orders were relayed to the asari onboard. As D'ranna listened to everyone getting ready, her second in command walked up to her.

"D'ranna..." She whispered, "what do we do if there are survivors from the crash?"

D'ranna's expression tightened in fear as she realized what she was implying, then a steely resolve came over her.

"Then they meet the same fate as the humans." She said in a low, slightly wavering voice.

With a nod at the unspoken (yet fearful) order, her second in command left the bridge, while the asari cruiser descended into the atmosphere.

* * *

In a dark purple room, illuminated only by minimal lighting, several large figures sat hunched over holographic consoles. The dull blue lighting cast an ominous glow over the armored beings as they worked. Despite their relative professionalism and discipline, the crew were getting restless.

They had been here for several years, and while their supplies were in no danger of running out, it had been so long since they had live prey. Nevertheless, their discipline and loyalty kept them calm and restrained.

Eventually, one of the consoles began flashing.

"Shipmaster!" The ape-like figure called out. "Two vessels have arrived in orbit. They're moving towards the surface as we speak!"

At this news, a hush fell over the crowded room, as everyone turned to look at the center of the room. An even larger figure sat in a curved purple throne that hovered off the ground, clad in battle armor and a large helmet. Two eyes opened, revealing the crimson irises within. The figure let out a low chuckle.

"Finally."


	2. The Skirmish Begins

One hour earlier

The Jiralhanae Chieftain stood in his private room, overlooking the pedestal displaying one of his personal gravity hammers. Shipmaster Laccabeus had just finished an exercise that would have been anathema to most his kind: a form of meditation.

While most Jiralhanae preferred savage slaughter, Laccabeus knew that a level of detachment could easily increase one's effectiveness in combat situations. It was because of this that he also preferred more than one personal weapon.

Laccabeus inwardly chuckled at how the rest of his kind seemed to love name their weapons. Tartarus, Torikus, etc. They loved to give their Hammers grandoise names, like the Fist of Rukt, Tartarus' family heirloom, or the Fist of Origer, Torikus' personal weapon.

Laccabeus never saw the point; a gravity hammer was a weapon, an instrument of death. While it could be an extremely dangerous weapon, it was just that; a weapon. Still, the Shipmaster couldn't deny that the hammer was his favorite weapon, especially with the modifications made to it, and some of his greatest battles had been fought with this weapon.

Laccabeus removed the hammer from its plinth, smiling at the memories of the kills he had made with this weapon. The smile disappeared as he felt another presence in the room. Sniffing the air, the Chieftain caught a faint scent. It smelled like...

Sangheili.

Spinning around, Laccabeus swept his hammer in an arc, causing a gravity wave to spread through the room, sending the Elite against a nearby wall and deactivating his active camo. Two facts about this warrior were immediately apparent: he was wearing an Ascetic helmet and was carrying a red energy sword.

The Sangheili recovered quickly and lunged toward the Shipmaster, who parried the blows with the hilt of his hammer. The Brute struck hard, only for the nimble warrior to sidestep the strike.

His blood up, Laccabeus increased the speed of his blows, causing the Elite to give ground until he was sent flying by a sweeping blow. Shaking off the cobwebs, the Sangheili attempted to rise, only to find himself pinned down by a massive foot, with the gravity hammer's pommel at his neck. Rather than finish off his opponent, Laccabeus just chuckled.

"Well played Halmat. You almost had me there." Laccabeus removed his foot and offered the Elite a hand, who immediately took it.

"You are as sharp as ever, Shipmaster." Halmat said warmly, shaking the Jiralhanae's hand. "And here I thought that sitting on your grav throne for so long had made you soft."

"You wound me, old friend." Laccabeus joked, smiling at the jab to his ego. "I take it that you and your warriors are getting restless?"

"You could say that." Halmat hesitantly replied. "Ever since we destroyed the last of those... geth, my Special Ops warriors have been striving for a true test of their skills."

"Patience old friend. The technology of the geth should be sufficient enough to draw in scavengers." The Brute Chieftain replied. "It's only a matter of time."

"Well, with your permission, I'd like to do a quick inspection on our ambush preparations, particularly in regards to the guards at the weather machine."

"Granted." Laccabeus replied. "Make sure that Commander Renad knows you're coming."

Halmat tapped his right fist over his chestplate. "As you command."

With that, the Spec Ops commander left the room, leaving the Jiralhanae alone with his thoughts. It _had_ been a long time since they had encountered anyone worth fighting, with the robotic intelligences inhabiting the planet having been the last.

The last of these robotic "geth" had been destroyed after the Covenant forces had landed here. Since that time, Laccabeus had repurposed their technology for his own ends, ordering the Huragok to fix the weather control device, before sending out a low powered signal using the geth transmitter.

Once the signal had been broadcast on a loop, the weather device had been activated, causing a sandstorm which disrupted any attempts at scanning for lifeforms. Now, all they had to do was wait.

And they had been waiting for a long time.

With a sigh, Laccabeus put his hammer back on the pedestal and made his way to the bridge, buried deep in the heart of the ship. Anticipating another day of boredom and false alarms, the Shipmaster nevertheless knew that he had to be there.

Little did he realize that the plan would work sooner than he thought.

* * *

Commander Sato intently looked over the holographic displays. They were showing a small force of shuttles emerging from the cruiser's belly, setting course for the crashed assault carrier.

They also displayed the asari cruiser entering the atmosphere behind them.

"How soon will our reinforcements get here?" She asked expectantly.

"20 minutes..." Was the hesitant answer. "But the rest of our fleet is composed mostly of unarmed salvage ships and fighters."

"Which is why we draw the asari's fire so our fighters can come in from behind."

It looked like the bridge crew wanted to protest, but upon remembering their boss's temperment, they thought better of it and agreed. At that moment, another report came in.

"Ma'am, it appears that the cruiser is deploying their own forces. I've got Kodiaks and Mantises all on an intercept course for the crash site."

"So, it seems the blue bitches want to start a fight." Sato growled. "Then I'll be happy to give them one."

She gestured to her two guards. "Come with me, we're going bitch hunting."

* * *

"Shipmaster, it seems that we have two opposing factions coming after us."

"Then they may do most of the work for us." Laccabeus replied. "Are we prepared?"

"Yes, High-Chieftain." Chieftain Makterbus, his second-in-command replied. "The trap has been set. All our troops are in position."

"The Kig-yar, Yanme'e and Mgalekgolo are to await my signal." The High-Chieftain ordered. "And ensure the Unggoy keep themselves quiet and prepared. We can't have them run out of methane now."

Unlike the Covenant before and after its prime, Laccabeus didn't have nearly as many Unggoy as the Covenant at its height. He made up for this by allowing each individual one to recieve better training.

Because of this, the Covenant army under Laccabeus' command was more dangerous than the average legion during the Human-Covenant War. Now though, they relished an oppurtunity to put their skills to good use.

Laccabeus would ensure that they would get an oppurtunity soon enough.

* * *

Sergeant Hennessy of the elite Dagger squad looked out the window, spotting the vast wreck and scattered technology through the storm. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he took a good look at the crashed assault carrier.

There was something off about this wreck: the crash site just seemed too neat for a ship that had supposedly crashed from orbit. The carrier had clearly suffered battle damage, but it was still in one piece for something that had to have crashed from orbit. And the scattered vehicles looked too intact to be natural. Unfortunately, the rest of the crew were too excited to get their hands on Covenant technology to care. Nevertheless, he brought his concerns to the Commander but she brushed it off.

"It could have been a Flood ship." She had said looking over the hologram of the wreckage. "It might have been combat forms on this planet that were killed at the end of the Flood war."

In a way that made sense, but it also raised more questions; like what would the Flood have been doing here?

Regardless of the mystery, he and Dagger squad had a different mission: During another scan of the planet, their sensors were able to determine that Geth-made energy signatures had been detected on the planet, probably what was causing the weird storm and interference. While the rest of the CAT6 forces prepared to scavenge the crash site, Hennessy would lead Dagger to find the source of the jamming signals, and shut it down.

A task that was proving easier said than done, considering the massive dust storm that obscured visibility significantly. When the Kodiak touched down on the surface, the pilot was already complaining that visibility was near-zero.

As Dagger squad departed toward the energy signature which was emanating from a nearby rock formation, Hennesy tried to ignore the feeling that he was being watched, unaware of the cloaked beings on the rock formations they were moving toward.

* * *

D'ranna walked onto the planet surface, looking around at the scattered vehicles and supply crates littering the desert. Even though they were older models, they promised death and destruction to anyone who knew how to use them effectively.

While many scientists would start salivating over such advanced technology, the ex-Spectre was more focused on the human soldiers who were also scavenging through the wreckage. Choosing to focus on the task at hand, like Tela Vasir had taught her, D'ranna ordered her forces to spread out and get in ambush positions.

By the appearance of their armor, the asari could tell that these humans were members of the CAT6 mercenary group, most famous for their embarrassingly bad attempt to kill Commander Shepard and replace him with a clone.

These humans had a reputation of being so psychotic, that even Cerberus rejected them outright (and when the human-supremacist organization responsible for Sanctuary calls you insane... well, that says a lot). As such, she believed that they would be easy prey for the Athame Sisters. As soon as the asari were in position, they waited, watching the glowing blue lenses of the mercenary armor stumbling through the dust storm, no doubt trying to spot any signs of an ambush.

D'ranna resisted the urge to chuckle; the foolish ex-soldiers might as well paint bullseye targets all over their bodies. As soon as they came closer, the ex-Spectre gave the order that the Sisters were waiting for.

"All units. Attack!" She shouted as she vanished in a stream of violet light.

Reappearing in front of a CAT6 heavy soldier, she sent him flying before he had a chance to either raise his omni-shield or fire his Revenant. The rest of the asari also attacked, the more experienced following their leader's example with biotic charge, while others simply deployed warp fields and other biotic attacks against the humans.

To their credit, CAT6 was quick to respond, but the Athame Sisters were happy to use their mastery of hit and run combat against the humans. Eventually, one CAT6 Specialist began shouting over the din.

"Pull back! We need to-"

Whatever he was about to say died with him, as D'ranna put a bullet through his skull. With their officer down, the group of soldiers panicked and ran, only to be cut down as they fled.

D'ranna smirked in spite of herself. It was always fun to show the lesser races why the asari were superior. As the Athame Sisters pursued the retreating CAT6, they never noticed some of the sand shifting behind them. Nor did they see several massive figures emerge from the shadows of a crashed Phantom.

* * *

Lela Sato swore as screaming and panicked voices filled the comm. The asari bitches were turning her advance scouts into a laughing stock. Nevertheless, she was armed with the knowledge of where they were, she ordered the rest of her forces to pull back to more defensible positions.

As the asari attempted to attack, they were met by a hail of gunfire along with the occasional biotic attack from her and the twin gatling guns held by her large cybernetically enhanced bodyguards. For a moment, it seemed that this would hold, but then she heard a noise that filled her with dread: the whirring noise of a Mantis.

"Gunship!" Someone managed to cry out, just as the Mantis opened fire with its missiles.

Half-a-dozen men were killed in a single blast, while the following barrage from the mass accelerator cut down those soldiers who's barriers had protected them. Instinctively, one Specialist pulled out a rocket launcher and fired, intent on bringing the gunship down.

The blast damaged it but the asari craft held firm. Regardless, the gunship had served its purpose as a distraction, as an asari commando charged into the center of the formation, taking down two Specialists before a cloaked sniper put a round into her head.

"Where are our reinforcements?" Sato shouted over the noise of the battle. The answer that came over the other end made her smile.

Less than 30 seconds later, a pair of human fighters soared through the atmosphere firing on the asari gunships that were arriving from their cruiser. As the gunships exploded, bursts of light appeared in the air around the asari cruiser as the fighter squadrons performed attack runs on the ship.

GARDIAN lasers swiped a few of them out of the air, but CAT6 clearly had the advantage over the Athame Sisters. As the mercenaries on the ground cheered, Lela was quick to rally them.

"Alright, boys and girls! Now that out air support is here, let's show these blue strippers what humans can really do!"

Morale restored, CAT6 redoubled their offensive with increased vigour, eager to remove the asari presence and take all the technology from the carrier. Already, salvage ships were beginning their landing sequences, the crews salivating at the prospect of such a rich cache of Covenant technology.

They would soon realize their grave mistake at assuming that there were no survivors.

* * *

Sergeant Hennesy made his way through the sand storm, ignoring the shouting over the comms and the sounds of battle behind him. The four men of Dagger squad were professionals, and only had one job: find whatever was causing the interference, and disable it.

Eventually, the team made it to the entrance of a cave, where a beam of blue energy was emerging from within and shooting up into the sky. The group halted, taking a look around as they checked for any signs of movement.

When none were forthcoming, Hennesy gestured to two of his soldiers.

"You two, stay here and watch for hostiles." He pointed to the other soldier. "You come with me."

The two he had first pointed at stayed behind to guard the entrance, while Hennesy and his partner entered the cave, pulling out shotguns as they did so. They cautiously made their way through the cave, taking notice of all the potential hiding spots.

Hennesy felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as the feeling of being watched came over him yet again. Quickly, he spun around, shotgun aimed behind him, only to find nothing there, not even the signs of a cloaked figure.

"Sir, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied after a brief hesitation. "Let's just get this done." They resumed their journey to the cave.

Eventually, the two humans made it to the source of the interference, only to find that it was a geth weather device, and from the look of things, it had been activated recently. Ex-sergeant Hennesy felt his blood run cold at the implications, when he felt a presence right behind him.

"Oh, shit."

An energy sword sprang to life, the cloaked Elite impaling the former soldier on it's blade. His partner tried to run, only to run right into a Brute Stalker, who backhanded him, sending him flying across the cave before executing him with a single Mauler shot.

As the Elite and Brute surveyed the area, a third elite appeared, this one clad in silver armor with strange tusks emerging from his helmet. The last thing Hennesy heard was the Elite's voice on the comms.

"All hostiles eliminated." There was a pause before the silver Elite spoke again. "Acknowledged, we will begin the attack."

After that, all Hennesy knew was darkness.

* * *

Laccabeus sat in his command throne, watching the holographic screens. Witnessing the conflict between these asari and humans had just made his day. Of course, the rest of his forces were growing restless, but Laccabeus assured them that they wouldn't have to wait long.

Then he got a signal from Halmat. As soon as that happened, the Jiralhanae Shipmaster opened a channel on the BattleNet so that every Covenant soldier could hear his voice.

"Warriors, it is time. Rise up and show these fools the power of the Covenant!"

The local BattleNet exploded into life as the Covenant forces rose out of concealment. Inside the bridge, the Jiralhanae crew members were also alive with activity, restarting systems that had been deactivated in order to stay hidden.

As all this was happening, Laccabeus just sat back in his chair, content to let his forces have their fun. After years of nothing but training and boredom to occupy their time, they deserved to enjoy some savage slaughter.

Besides, it would only be a taste of what is to come.


	3. Covenant Ambush

D'ranna swore in frustration. She had underestimated these humans, believing that they would be easy targets for the superior asari commandos. They had instead disabused her of that notion, putting up a valiant fight against the Athame Sisters.

To make matters worse, CAT6 reinforcements had arrived and were attacking the Sisters' cruiser in the upper atmosphere. The superior construction of the asari had enabled it to withstand the punishment, but that wouldn't last forever.

The ex-Spectre was seething, but she put on a mask of self-control, just like Vasir had taught her. Even now, she was rallying the Athame Sisters, using guerilla strikes that would have made the Serrice guard proud.

And yet, the battle was stalemated, with each side barely able to gain an advantage over the other. Mass Accelerator rounds split the air, and biotic attacks were absorbed by omni-shields, succeeding only in creating a disjointed light show.

As the conflict raged on, several combatants noticed that six blue comets had just randomly appeared from the wrecked vehicles closer to the carrier. Before anyone could shout a warning, the projectiles impacted the human and asari formations, destroying several vehicles and vaporizing dozens of soldiers, leaving only craters of brittle glass.

Seconds later, a stream of purple light emerged from the dust storm and struck the human cruiser, knifing past the kinetic barrier and shutting down its engines. The pulse laser turrets weren't finished and started targeting the asari and human salvage ships, bringing them down.

D'ranna gaped in horror. The Carrier was clearly active, and had drawn them in. And it only got worse from there, as hundreds of lights emerged from the fog as the scattered Covenant technology reactivated.

Dozens of Brutes, Elites, Hunters, Grunts, and Jackals emerged from their hiding places, some having hidden with the use of active camo, while the rest emerged from behind their vehicles or from underneath the sand itself.

The 'crashed' Phantoms rose up from their wreckage sites. Wraiths, Ghosts, Choppers and Prowlers had their engines spring to life, having been disguised as debris from the ship. A towering Scarab awoke from the desert, sand sliding off it as the Lekgolo drivers rose from their prone form.

Banshee fighters strafed the ground forces and engaged in ariel dogfights with the gunships. The nimble aircraft avoided the mass accelerator fire with ease, and retaliated with plasma fire and fuel rod blasts.

All over the desert, weapons fire lit up the asari and human forces, as the Covenant soldiers emerged from concealment. Jackals took overwatch positions on cliffsides and Deployable lookout towers, unleashing sniper fire throughout the area. Hunters unleashed plasma streams at any vehicle that came too close.

Their armor and equipment was pockmarked and scarred, no doubt due to constant exposure to the elements. Yet it was working perfectly well as the energy shields flared, providing their wearers with protection against hostile fire.

For a moment, D'ranna froze as the Sisters and CAT6 around her started panicking. She really couldn't blame them. She had desperately hoped that this crash had killed everyone on board, but even if it hadn't, the ex-Spectre had anticipated only a few scattered survivors, not an entire Covenant army!

The flare of a plasma mortar impacting nearby snapped her out of her stupor, and began rallying her forces against the Covenant. It was a valiant effort by the asari, but they could only do so much against aliens that were three times their size and equipped with more advanced weaponry.

* * *

"Take cover!"

Sato quickly followed her own advice, leaping down into a nearby crater just as a Brute Chopper roared overhead. Several mercs were too slow, and as a result were reduced to mincemeat by the Chopper's roaring autocannons and lethal blades.

She couldn't believe the situation had gone FUBAR so quickly. An entire Covenant army had just appeared out of nowhere, apparently hiding among the scattered technology. It was clear that these Covenant had drawn them in, and done it rather well.

Eventually, she noticed that it was relatively quiet in her immediate location, and rose from her cover to see that the Chopper had moved on. Several of her soldiers also emerged from their hiding spots, feeling relieved.

"All clear!" One specialist called. But he spoke too soon.

A lance of energy passed right through his skull, leaving a cleanly cauterized hole in his head.

"Sniper!" One soldier yelled, and was immediately rewarded with a follow-up shot.

The mercs dived for cover again, while Sato ordered one of her own snipers to take out the Jackal.

In response, one of her own snipers zeroed in on the Jackal's glowing red eye scope and fired her Incisor. They were rewarded with the sound of the alien drowning in its own blood.

This small victory was overshadowed when Sato heard a loud screeching noise behind her. Spinning around, she saw dozens of ships falling several miles away, including her pride and joy, the _Deliverance._ The once proud cruiser was now a pile of scrap metal, its hull charred by plasma fire.

As Sato stared at the wreckage of her ship, shrill wailing and howling noises emerged from behind her in the sky. Seconds later, several flights of Banshees roared overhead, escorting at least four Phantom dropships.

She clenched her fist, enraged at the filthy alien claws all over her ship. That disgust increased when she saw a swarm of Drones emerge from one of the Phantoms, their claws immediately tearing components from the _Deliverance._

"Contact!"

The shout was followed by dozens of plasma bolts, spiker rounds, needler projectiles and more began bracketing the CAT6 defensive positions. Commander Sato ducked just in time to avoid a spiker round that would've taken her head off.

In her haste, she got a good look at a squad taking cover in a nearby crater. One Specialist stood up to fire and came back down missing most of his face. A Heavy attempted to take his position using an omni-shield to provide cover, but a plasma grenade soared through the air and landed on his helmet.

Screaming, the man tried to remove the hissing grenade in vain before he vanished in a flash of blue light that temporarily blinded Sato. When her vision returned, there was no trace of any of the soldiers within the crater.

"I want our men boarding that Carrier right now!" She ordered over the radio, cursing as a plasma mortar took out another formation of troopers, leaving only cracking glass. "We're taking that ship and killing all these Covenant pricks!"

She pointed to her two bodyguards, the Bladski twins and gestured to the Carrier. "I want you two to lead the attack. Get to the bridge and take control of that ship."

"As you command." The older of the two replied as he and his brother made for the ship.

Commander Sato smirked in spite of herself. The Bladski's were her most loyal soldiers, and both of them had undergone extensive cybernetic enhancements after the Reaper war, putting them on par with Cerberus Phantoms.

Covenant or no, Lela Sato was confident in their ability to take the ship, no matter the cost.

* * *

"Chieftain!" One of the bridge officers shouted. "Asari and human forces are converging on the starboard side. They'll be able to enter through the breaches in the hull."

"Divert six lances to starboard." Makterbus ordered. "And get a Mgalekgolo pair to the largest breach, then lock down the surrounding hallways to the remaining breaches."

"Belay that." Laccabeus countermanded, rising from his throne. "Get my personal guard and bring me my hammer! I'll deal with the intruders myself. Makterbus, you have the bridge."

Laccabeus left the bridge, meeting up with his guards on the way to the opening. It wasn't that he doubted his crew's capabilities, but rather the Chieftain hoped to spill some blood himself. It had been too long since he had felt blood run through his hands, since he had to clean his weapon of an opponent's flesh.

Today, that would change.

The Shipmaster headed to the breach that the asari forces were predicted to enter, and sure enough, a squad of the biotic commandos rounded a corner, with trails of violet energy around them. One asari stepped forward, the leader most likely, considering her posture.

"You have two choices, you primitive ape:" The commando stated. "You either give this ship to us, or I'll reduce you to a smear on the wall."

Laccabeus barked out a laugh. It was clear that this woman was either deluded, overconfident or just plain stupid. Asari or not, no one with any sense would directly threaten a being three times their size.

"Are you actually supposed to be the one who's in charge?" The Shipmaster said, elicting amusement from his cadre of Jiralhanae. "Or are you the resident whore of the humans?"

Enraged, the asari charged the Brute Chieftan in a burst of biotic energy, only for him to stand firm and barely move a step back. With a sneer, the Jiralhanae retaliated with a hammer blow, sending the commando flying into the wall, where a large splatter of blood formed on the wall. A second blow ensured that the asari would never get back up.

Now leaderless, the remaining asari boarders attacked in a disorganized manner, but were swiftly dispatched by the Shipmaster and his bodyguards. Laccabeus smirked as he wiped the blood from his armor. This was the most fun he had had in years.

"Shipmaster!" One Brute Captain yelled. "Humans have are coming down the starboard hallway!"

"Then prepare yourselves! We'll let them come to us."

No sooner had he said that when a large group of CAT6 Specialists and Heavies rounded the corner and quickly took up firing positions. "Take them down!" One filtered voice shouted.

Several Captains let loose a salvo from their Brute shots, horribly maiming several Specialists. In response, the Heavies set themselves up in a Phalanx formation, omni-shields arranged to absorb some of the incoming fire while they retaliated with massed Revenant fire.

One Brute fell from the onslaught, his power armor destroyed and his body riddled with holes, while the senior guards took aim with Carbines and fired, with one getting a lucky shot and hitting a heavy's throat. The mercenary was left with the unenviable task of drowning in his own blood while being cooked to death by the projectile's residual radiation.

Another Brute's power armor was destroyed by the suicidal charge of a Disruption drone, which caused the rest of the mercenaries to zero in on him. In response, a barrage of pink needles embedded themselves in an exposed heavy, which liquified him a second later.

In response to the hole in their formation, one CAT6 mercenary pulled out a rocket launcher, firing the projectile at the Chieftain. Acting quickly, Laccabeus set off his gravity hammer, sending the rocket flying harmlessly towards the ceiling, leaving a minor scorch mark in the hall.

"Prepare grenades!" Laccabeus roared.

In response, the remaining Brutes and the Cheiftain himself let loose a volley of spike grenades into the merc formation, some of which took body parts off from the sheer force of the throw alone.

One heavy fell back, blood pouring from his shattered helmet, while another screamed in agony from the grenade that had impacted his crotch. While this was happening, a pair of Brute Ultras pulled out deployable shield covers and threw them in front of their formation.

Then the grenades detonated.

The result was catastrophic, as the enclosed space caused the shrapnel to ricochet into the mercenary position multiple times. Kinetic barriers collapsed, leaving the mercs exposed to the spikes that embedded themselves into flesh.

When the screaming finally stopped, all that remained of the CAT6 mercenaries was a massive mess that the Unggoy were going to have to clean up later. Looking over their work, the Covenant were easily satisfied with the fight today.

"Bring our dead to their resting places." Laccabeus ordered. "Leave the humans where they are."

"What of the asari?" A Jiralhanae minor asked.

"Well, since you volunteered, half will go to the Kig-Yar while the rest goes into our food supply."

The Jiralhanae pack laughed at that, leaving to set about their tasks. Meanwhile, Laccabeus gave the order for his forces to seal off the hull breaches, to deny any more boarders access to his vessel. He had enjoyed the slaughter, but it would be foolish to risk more coming aboard.

* * *

The Bladski brothers made their way through the purple halls of the Covenant ship. The two of them were cloaked from prying eyes and armed with monomolecular swords infused with trace amounts of dark energy.

All in all, the two of them were the CAT6 equivalent of Cerberus Phantoms, and carried out their tasks with obsessive zeal. Abram was the oldest, and willingly served Commander Sato after she recruited the twins from the slums of Earth. Meanwhile, Anton just loved a good fight, and would follow his brother anywhere.

Now though, the two of them wondered if they had bitten off more than they could chew. They had entered the Carrier following a large force of their fellow mercenaries, and had heard them being slaughtered over the radio.

As they came to a three way intersection, Abram was the first to spot their comrades. Or rather what was left of them. Though the Bladski's were no stranger to blood, the sheer carnage that had been unleashed was enough to make even the blood hungry Anton nauseous. From around the corner, they could hear Brute voices, with one issuing orders to the others.

Sneaking a peek, Abram saw a pack of Brutes departing into the depths of the ship, leaving one large and heavily armored Chieftain overlooking the bloody remains of the CAT6 boarders, who he had no doubt lead the slaughter of.

Pulling back, Abram met his brother's eye and held up one finger. Anton nodded and vanished into thin air, immediately followed by his brother. The two of them moved across the floor, carefully moving on the blood-free sections of the floor while the Chieftain was walking away from them, seemingly oblivious to their presence.

As soon as the Bladski's cleared the blood, they sped up, intent on putting their swords through the beast's head. But when they were no more than five meters from their target, the Chieftain, moving faster than they had thought, pulled the hammer from his back, spun around and swung horizontally down the hallway.

Though the hammer itself struck empty air, the gravity distortion spread outward, sending the two brothers flying, before landing hard in the remains of their comrades. The blood coated them, rendering their tactical cloaks useless. Meanwhile, the Chieftain had started laughing.

"Did you really think that you could board my ship without my knowledge?" The Brute roared.

In response, Anton pulled out his sidearm and fired a burst, which only caused the Chieftain's energy shields to spark. However, this provided Abram with the oppurtunity to flank the Brute, managing to blindside him with a swipe from his sword.

Angered, the Brute swung his hammer at the older brother, who deftly dodged to the side, avoiding what would have been a crushing blow. Meanwhile, Anton rushed the Chieftain from behind, but this time, the Jiralhanae noticed and ducked, causing Anton to lunge over the beast's head.

The fight went on like that for a few moments, with the brothers using hit and run tactics in the hopes of enraging the Chieftain so that he would go beserk and thus be more likely to make a mistake. Surprisingly, the Chieftain remained relatively calm, enabling him to fight intelligently.

The brothers became desperate as they realized that this prolonged conflict would only draw more Covenant to their location and attempted to finish the battle quickly. This became their fatal mistake.

When dodging another hammer blow, Abram was too slow to avoid the gravity wave, which sent him flying back into the pile of his comrades. Meanwhile, Anton rushed the Chieftain, only to be backhanded against the wall by the Chieftain's left gauntlet. A swift blow from the bladed end of the gravity hammer was all that was needed to bisect him.

Abram saw the death of his little brother and felt his blood boil at the sight. Shock and rage swept through him like a fire, and he rose to his feet grabbing a rocket launcher that the mercenaries had dropped earlier.

"For my brother." He murmered as he took aim at the Chieftain.

Just before he could pull the trigger, he heard a distinct hiss behind him, before feeling a horrible pain in his chest. Abram found himself rising of the ground, impaled on the prongs of a blood red energy sword. In spite of that, Abram felt relief: he would see his brother again.

'Hang on Anton.' He thought. 'I'm coming.'

Then everything went dark.

* * *

"Halmat." Laccabeus laughed. "And here I thought you'd be out on the frontlines."

"I was." Halmat responded, tossing the body of the dead human aside. "But when the fighting outside died down, I returned to ensure your safety." He gestured to the rocket launcher with the tip of his sword before shutting the blade down. "It appears I arrived just in time."

"My thanks, old friend. You say the fighting outside is finishing?" When Halmat nodded, Laccabeus frowned. "A shame. I was hoping the crew would see more conflict."

"Then let us hope that the ships have what we need." Halmat replied grimly.

...

The bridge was busy with activity when they returned, the command team hard at work when Laccabeus and Halmat walked in. Several crewmembers and guards gave their acknowledgements as their Shipmaster walked past. Then Makterbus turned and saw the High-Chieftain's approach, immediately saluting.

"Status report." Laccabeus instructed. "How's the battle going?"

"The human and asari forces have been dwindled down to platoon strength each." Makterbus replied. "We've taken the survivors prisoner, and by the looks of it, their leaders are among them."

"Keep them locked up. I'll deal with them later." Laccabeus said. "What about the salvage teams? Did they find what they were looking for?"

Makterbus briefly turned his head towards the operator manning the Engineering console. After getting a brief nod from the young Jiralhanae, the Chieftain turned back to the Shipmaster.

"The Huragok have finished their work now. The interdimensional drive is online. We're ready to leave at your command, Shipmaster." Laccabeus smirked. At long last, they would be free from this desolate planet.

"Recall our troops. Tell them to get everything packed up." The High-Chieftain sat back down in his command throne. "Once that's done, we're leaving this place for good."

Makterbus smiled. "By your command."

* * *

Several hours later, all Covenant technology and most of the functioning mass effect small arms had been gathered up onto the Assault Carrier. As soon as everyone was onboard, the massive ship roared to life, lifting it up from the ground.

With debris emerging from it, like an animal shaking off dust, the carrier flew rose up into the atmosphere, quickly reaching orbit within moments. A bluish-white rift emerged at the ship's bow, and the ship entered the portal.

Seconds later, the slipspace rupture closed with a wink of light as the Covenant forces disappeared. They left behind a planet strewn with the wreckage of geth structures, asari and human ships, and hundreds of decomposing corpses.


	4. History and Memories

D'ranna roared as she unleashed a biotic shockwave into the energy shield of her cell, attempting to break through the Covenant barrier. She may as well have been throwing rocks for all the good it did.

Feeling fatigued, she nevertheless tried a warp next, to only find the exact same result. She got ready to try again, only to hear sarcastic clapping coming from another cell across from her.

A female human clad in merc armor was leaning against the side of her cell, with the faux applause echoing through the detention block.

"Good effort. And here I thought you asari would just talk to the guards and try to convince them to turn the barriers off."

"It's better than sitting around doing nothing." D'ranna snarled back. "But I guess you'd rather do something dirty and underhanded to get out. Me, I'm going to break out while the guards are gone."

"Guess again, you stupid bitch." The human retorted. "The guards have active camo. They're watching us right now." She gestured to a patch of air that seemed slightly distorted.

D'ranna frowned. These Covenant were smarter than they looked, especially when it came to security. That was obvious by looking around. The invisible guards, the energy barriers as doors that were obviously powered by the carrier's reactor, and more.

The ex-Spectre took a look around her cell and those nearby. The rooms were clearly capable of holding twenty individuals of asari or human dimensions if they were crammed in and yet, each cell was occupied by no more than four soldiers at one room, while the especially powerful biotics like herself and her human counterpart were the sole occupants of their rooms.

Of course, the Covenant had let them the Athame Sisters and CAT6 keep their armor, but that was hardly an advantage without weapons, helmets, omni-tools or kinetic barrier generators. It seemed like they had to play the waiting game.

So, D'ranna calmed down and mirrored the posture of her counterpart, all while silently fuming internally. This was supposed to have been an easy mission: salvage the ship and kill any survivors or rivals. And yet, not once did she ever assume that this was a trap. Her former colleagues in the Spectres would be laughing themselves silly if they knew how badly she had screwed up.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sounds of approaching footsteps. Multiple Brutes came into view seconds later, being led by a massive red and black armoured Chieftain. The ship's commander, who this could only be, walked towards the center of the cell block while the rest of his guards took up position around the room.

When the Chieftain was at the center of the room, he looked around at everyone in the cells.

"I'm guessing you're wondering why we've kept you all alive."

There was a moment of silence as the Chieftain's booming voice seemed to linger in the air.

"Yeah, that would be nice to know, jackass!" This came from one of the CAT6 Specialists, before one of his buddies elbowed him in the gut to get him to stop talking.

Aside from a brief smirk, the Brute gave no sign that he heard that little interruption.

"I was considering just executing all of you, or just feeding you to my forces," There was a collective shudder from the captives at thought. "But, as a reward for freeing us from that planet, I've decided to offer you all a position on my crew."

There was a moment of silence as they took a moment to digest that. Then the CAT6 leader broke the silence.

"You lead us into a trap, slaughter hundreds of our people, and now you just expect us to join with you?!"

"The choice is entirely up to you." The Brute replied. "Of course, if you refuse, then we'll find... other ways of using you."

At that, the Brute guards opened two cell doors and grabbed four individuals, two human and two asari. The massive aliens started dragging the struggling soldiers away, while the Chieftain looked back.

"I'll give you twelve hours to decide."

With that, the Brutes left the room, leaving a brief silence behind. Seconds later, a new sound emerged from outside the cell block: blood-curdling screams followed by the sounds of eating and Brutes laughing.

Eyes widened, the humans and the asari felt sick upon realizing what that was, with some even throwing up. Meanwhile, D'ranna felt sick to her core as she realized this was the fate she was looking forward to if she didn't agree to the Chieftain's ultimatum.

The screaming lasted for a long time, but mercifully cut out after four hours. The sounds of eating persisted long afterwards, before that eventually vanished after the seven hour mark.

And through all that, D'ranna just sat quietly, with her head in her hands. Two of her own people had been turned into food, and the rest would almost certainly suffer the same fate if she didn't agree to the Brute's demands.

Turning her head, she looked towards her human counterpart, who was sitting on the floor, looking away from the door and shivering slightly. She was clearly terrified at what she heard from the Brutes.

Unfortunately, they were both in the same boat. Now all they could do was rest and wait until the Chieftain returned. They were left with silence and the memories of the sound of the Brutes feasting on their comrades as the seconds ticked by.

* * *

Laccabeus sat cross legged in the center of his training room, silently appreciating the peace and quiet. He could finally relax after his crew's constant pestering of his choice to offer their prisoners a deal to fight alongside them.

Truthfully, Laccabeus wasn't thrilled with the idea either, but their forces were a little short on manpower, and they would also be rather conspicous if they went near any rather populated worlds. They needed agents who wouldn't attract as much attention, and they could serve that purpose well. Besides, they could always be used as cannon fodder in combat.

As Laccabeus thought about this, his mind drifted back to how he had come to this: from a proud Shipmaster in the Covenant to what could only be described as a pirate/warlord of a single carrier, forgotten by the multiverse at large.

When the multiverse was discovered and the foundations of the InterDimensional Alliance were in their early stages, he had been ecstatic at the prospect. It was an opportunity to find new foes, to challenge himself in new ways. Oh, the governments of the IDA had attempted to stop him, the UNSC and Swords of Sangheilios being the most adamant among them, but he always evaded their pursuit.

Then, Laccabeus encountered _him_ : the young human with the strange power beyond anything ever imagined. Of course, no one realized that at the time. He initially seemed like a rather foolish child who got his hands on some rather powerful technology.

Oh, he had initially drawn in other, seemingly more powerful warriors, such as one of the most skilled of the Yautja Enforcers, and the armored Hunter, a being who's great abilities and power armor could put even the Demons to shame, but most of the IDA thought of this child as nothing more than a nobody.

Laccabeus had thought differently, having recognized the child's strength even at that early time period. Of course, even the Jiralhanae Shipmaster had no idea who he would become when he began hunting him down.

But the boy's strength had begun to show during one of their last duels, more than four decades ago...

* * *

_Flashback_

_Laccabeus slammed his hammer against the ground, sending his opponent flying. The ancient stone ruins around seemed to ripple in anticipation as if the environment itself had a vested interest in the fight's outcome._

_The child slammed into the ground on the other side of the room, apparently winded from the blow. Chuckling to himself, Laccabeus made a brisk walk with his hammer at the ready, in anticipation of ending this conflict once and for all._

_That's not to say Laccabeus had no respect for his opposition; far from it. He was a worthy opponent for the last two years, fighting more impressively than even the Demons could. Still, as fun as this was, Laccabeus knew that it would have to come to an end sooner or later._

_As he approached, the child rose up from the ground, one knee on the ground with his right arm supporting him. The human was no more than 6 feet tall at full height and was clad in all black armor that resembled an older model of Spartan armor. And yet, he had earned respect in the eyes of many of the Shipmaster's warriors._

_Of course, the child had never stood a chance against the might of the Jiralhanae Chieftain and had always been forced to flee after their previous bouts, but even then, he had often survived an impressive amount of damage that would've killed most other humans._

_Still, there had been something different about him in this current duel: he had seemed to have gained an increased amount of strength and speed, yet acted more unfocused, as if he was still getting accustomed to something new about him._

_Ultimately, it wouldn't matter any longer. He had been bested, and this time, none of his powerful allies were close enough to save him. But he deserved some parting words, from one warrior to another, before the killing blow sent him on his way to the next world._

_"You have fought admirably, young one." He said, standing over the kneeling human. "Better than most warriors have. Take comfort in the fact that you have been a most worthy foe to me. You have always resisted stubbornly in the face of true power and for that, you have my respect."_

_The human belted out a small, grim laugh, not even bothering to look up. "You have no idea what true power is, do you?"_

_Laccabeus frowned. It appeared that the respect was only one-way. Shrugging internally, Laccbeus raised his favourite hammer over his head and with a massive grunt he brought it down on the child's head._

_It never made it._

_Laccabeus' eyes widened at the sight: somehow, he was holding the hilt of the hammer with one hand, rivaling the Chieftain's strength in his off hand! This was certainly new. The young human finally looked up, toward the hammer._

_"Huh." The child remarked as if discussing the weather. "So, I can do that."_

_The human seemed to take on a subtle glow, and before Laccabeus could react, he found himself flying back down the hallway, slamming into the wall. His shields were completely drained from the impact, and he felt pain all across his body._

_Looking up, Laccabeus saw that the child was back on his feet, now holding a strange black sword in his right hand. Strange black and violet energy writhed all over him, and he seemed to radiate power, a far cry from his appearance only moments ago._

_Two of his Jiralhanae Captains came from either side of the hallway, taking aim at the child with their weapons. The human responded by pointing the tip of sword at them. A blast of black and violet energy emerged from the sword, blasting a hole through the chest of one Captain, then a second blast went through the other._

_Both Jiralhanae fell back, dead from this strange attack. Whatever it was, it wasn't biotics: they couldn't possibly affect Covenant energy shielding so easily. This was something no one had encountered before._

_But whatever the child had just done to Laccabeus' Captains seemed to be having an effect on him: he had dropped his sword and was supporting himself with one hand on the wall, while the other was holding the front of his helmet._

_The Shipmaster thought about trying to press his advantage and attack again, but banished that thought when the human removed his hand from his helmet, only for a blast of that same black energy erupted from the palm of his hand, partially collapsing the ceiling before he could close his fist._

_"Guys, my powers are going haywire again!"_

_That was the last thing Laccabeus heard him say before he gathered up his hammer and made his retreat. The Jiralhanae in him hated running from a fight, but he was no fool: it was clear that this was a battle he couldn't win._

_Not anymore._

* * *

That was the day when the tables had turned in their little... feud, and it would only go on for another six months until Laccabeus' carrier had caught up with him in an uninhabited solar system.

At first, it seemed like this would be the changing of the tide: when Laccabeus would win against the human, but then the star had begun collapsing and expanding at the same time. Seconds later, the star went supernova, with the Covenant forces escaping via an emergency slipspace jump nanoseconds before they were hit.

After that incident, the child disappeared from the interdimensional scene for a couple of months, while the rest of the IDA had assumed that Laccabeus and his crew had perished in the supernova.

The Shipmaster could've used that to his advantage, committing a powerful strike against the IDA governments. But that last incident had shaken him to the core. He was scared of the power that child possessed. No, not scared, more like flat out _terrified_.

That fear only increased when he heard the rumors after the child returned from his two month absence. According to unconfirmed reports, causing that supernova had been completely by _accident_!

In response, Laccabeus took his ship away from the more civilized areas of the growing multiverse. From there, he had kept track of events in the multiverse: from learning that his former opponent had created his own government and had gone from a young child to the Supreme Commander of the Republic. He had learned of their conflict with the similarily-minded and and advanced Separatists.

He witnessed the horrors of the Great Flood War.

For five years, the Parasite rampaged through the multiverse, until the Republic Supreme Commander and the Separatist Ruler used their powers combined with Ancient artifacts to wipe the Flood from existence.

It had been six years after the end of the Flood War that Laccabeus and his crew had ended up marooned on that desert planet. Despite that, they hadn't been completely cut off from the news of the multiverse.

They had heard about the rise of the Necromorphs and Reapers, and the subsequent return of the Flood. Laccabeus knew that the Republic and Separatists had a ceasefire and were working with one another to ensure that the Flood never return to their height again.

Beyond that, the Shipmaster was still in the dark about a fair amount of other events in the multiverse, which was another reason he had requested that the asari and human prisoners be offered a job, over the protests of using them as food. Besides, the crew would get more than their share of food at their next destination.

His meditation was interrupted by the sound of a chime. The twelve hours he had given the prisoners were up. Hopefully, the leaders would be a little more cooperative this time around.

* * *

Commander Lela Sato sat on the floor of her cell, waiting for the Brute Chieftain to return. Though she appeared outwardly calm, she had been shaken by the events of the previous twelve hours.

Hearing the screams of two of her men as they suffered god-knows-what punishment before being turned into- she didn't even want to think about it. The CAT6 commander had made up her mind:

She intended to join these Covenant, at least to guarantee the safety of her men. Of course, if she had the opportunity, she intended to take over the ship and throw most of the crew out the airlock.

With the exception of the Chieftain, of course. Sato had something special in mind for his role in the death of the Bladski brothers and his usage of two of her men as food. Unfortunately, that revenge would have to wait, at least for now.

Her mind snapped back to the present as she heard the loud noise of Brute footsteps. The Chieftain and his entourage had returned, taking up their previous positions from their last visit. The prisoners became even quieter as they waited for him to speak.

"Have you decided?" The Brute asked, first looking at Sato, and then the asari bitch in her cell. The latter answered first.

"The Athame Sisters... will join you." Her answer was clipped and precise, no doubt due to the fear of what the Brutes would do to her.

The Chieftain turned his gaze towards Sato, who struggled not to cower under the red-eyed gaze.

"So will CAT6." She ground out, trying to hide the trembling in her voice.

A futile effort, if the Brute's answering smirk was any indication.

"A wise decision." He simply replied, before nodding to someone out of view.

The force field doors for the cells of Sato and her asari counterpart deactivated. Before she could even consider using that as a chance to attack, two armored Brute guards entered the cell with weapons drawn, escorting her out. Sato could see that the asari was getting similar treatment.

"We'll discuss the details elsewhere." The Chieftain said as he turned to leave the cell block, followed by the two women and their escorts.

It wasn't long before they entered what Sato could only assume was a conference room of some kind, judging by the large purple table and chairs. The Brutes gestured for them to take a seat, with their escorts pointing their weapons at them.

As the CAT6 commander sat down in her designated seat, she noticed two massive Hunters, one on each side of the room, no doubt as extra security. The presence of the alien behemoths, combined with the fact that she felt like a child in one of the chairs, made her feel really small and insignificant in comparison to the other occupants.

The Chieftain took a seat on the opposite end of the table from his two... guests, clasping his hands together in an strangely human manner. After a moment of silence, the Brute began to speak.

"I believe it is the custom of most species to have... introductions in such meetings." He gestured to the two of them. "If you would be so kind: your names."

The asari bristled at the haughty tone used by the Brute, likely because her race was so used to speaking that way to everyone else. Inwardly chuckling while suppressing a smile, Sato decided to beat the blue bitch to the punch.

"I'm Commander Lela Sato." She said, before her counterpart could open her mouth to speak.

"I am _Captain_ D'ranna Nuvara." The asari said, glaring daggers at Sato before turning to the Brute at the end of the table.

D'ranna's emphasis on the word 'captain' wasn't lost on either the human or the Jiralhanae. It seemed that she had to be superior to everyone else in the room, which seemed to be an attitude common to the more conservative asari.

"And just who the hell are you supposed to be?" D'ranna demanded, before the slight movement behind her chair reminded her of the 8 foot-tall guards with deadly weapons trained on her.

The Chieftain let out a small chuckle, though whether it was at D'ranna's haughty attitude or her reaction to remembering that she wasn't the one with the power in the room, Sato couldn't be sure. The Brute reclined slightly in his chair, his red eyes darting between both women.

"I am Shipmaster Laccabeus."

* * *

Shipmaster Laccabeus.

D'ranna's eyes narrowed for a moment as she realized that she had heard that name before. Wracking her brains, she thought back to the days just after her incarceration, when her career as a Spectre had ended.

Then her memory clicked, as she recalled all the research she had done in prison, especially on the person who had been instrumental in getting her out of the Council's good graces. Her eyes widened when she remembered the story that mentioned this Brute.

"You're supposed to be dead."

The human, Sato, looked at her in confusion, then back to the Jiralhanae when he barked out a short laugh.

"It appears my reputation proceeds me." The Chieftain seemed rather surprised about that fact. "And here I thought the rest of the multiverse had forgotten my very existence."

D'ranna responded by leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.

"They have." She said, with a hint of spite. "I doubt anyone else will remember your name."

Rather than angering the Brute, like D'ranna had expected, that statement seemed to sadden him.

"Well that's no surprise." He said in wistful melancholy. "Everyone thought I was dead for the last four years. But I believe we have other matters to attend to."

With that, the three of them spoke at length and bartered with each other, though Sato and D'ranna had no choice but to comply with Laccabeus' demands, else they and their remaining soldiers would become food for the Brutes, Jackals and Grunts.

In the end, the two female biotics agreed to pledge their servitude to Laccabeus' Covenant forces in exchange for their lives and the lives of their forces. Satisfied with the arrangement, the Shipmaster summoned a silver armored Elite into the room.

"Commander Erda 'Renad will oversee the release of your forces and the return of their weapons. Perhaps you'd like to return to them. To ensure that their... integration into our ranks goes smoothly."

"About damn time." Sato muttered. "My men are probably going stir-crazy in there."

The ex-N7 turned to follow the Elite, but D'ranna hung back, a thought having occured to her.

"Wait." D'ranna said. "If you're Laccabeus, does this mean we're on..."

"Yes, you are." Laccabeus replied. "Welcome to the _Intention's Eye._ "

D'ranna was stunned. According to rumors, the _Intention's Eye_ was one of the most powerful CAS-class assault carriers ever built. There was even a claim that it could have gone up against a Super Star Destroyer, and won.

"Don't believe every story you hear." Laccabeus cautioned, having noticed the look on her face. "The _Eye_ is not some all powerful superweapon."

Nodding with a look of disappointment in her eyes, D'ranna followed Sato and Commander 'Renad back to the detention block. Laccabeus watched them go, knowing that he would have to be on guard for their betrayal attempts.

Returning to the bridge, he was greeted by his helmsman's report.

"Shipmaster, the coordinates are locked. The course is set."

"Good." The High-Chieftain replied, sitting in command throne.

"Get us to Endor."

* * *

TARGET PROFILE:  
LACCABEUS, SHIPMASTER  
COVENANT CLASS FIVE CAS-CLASS: INTENTION'S EYE

TARGET VALUE: ALPHA  
REPORT COMPILED BY LT. COMMANDER JAMESON LOCKE

Pursuant to Office of ONI Retrieval and Acquisitions inquiry of 12 August, 2554, the following is a target profile of Laccabeus, Shipmaster of the _Intention's Eye,_ compiled by Lieutenant Commander Locke.

Laccabeus' first recorded encounter with humanity was during the events of [CLASSIFIED] in 2546. During the Headhunter mission, Spartan [REDACTED] was heavily injured and the two of them were forced to retreat. This marks one of the few failed Headhunter missions since the events of [CLASSIFIED].

Agent Connor Brien reported on Laccabeus' movements from within High Charity. According to Agent Brien, despite his strategic and tactical skill, Laccabeus was looked down upon by the High Prophets and Chieftain Tartarus, and were it not for his successful track record, he would've been executed long ago.

After the fall of the Covenant, and the end of the Great war, the fracturing of the Covenant Hegemony has led to the creation of several remnant factions led by a variety of warlords. Chieftain Laccabeus is one such warlord, retaining command over the _Intention's Eye_.

Although he appears disinterested in direct control of the Covenant, Laccabeus is one of the few Chieftains with the cunning and strength to unite the Jiralhanae tribes into a coherent fighting force. During the war, Laccabeus and the _Intention's Eye_ were responsible for the destruction of five isolated Outer colonies, and the deaths of over one million civilians.

This agent's recommendation: Laccabeus' termination. If the UNSC is to truly remain at peace during the post-war years, it cannot succeed while leaders like Laccabeus and Jul 'Mdama still live.

Addendum: The _Intention's Eye_ and its commander are now classified as MIA after the destruction of the MX-783 system. Though the brass initially wanted to declare Laccabeus KIA, reports from the now Supreme Commander of the Republic requested that they remain vigilant, citing that and I quote "Unless you find a corpse, then it's likely he isn't dead." unquote.


	5. Arrivals and Conversations

On the surface of the desert world, a lone asari walked through the carnage that littered the planet. Clad in her traditional red armor, Justicar Samara was scouring the battlefield in order to better understand what had happened here.

For the past weeks, she had been in pursuit of the ex-Spectre D'ranna Nuvara, after her raid on a joint species colony world. The Athame Sisters had caused a considerable level of damage and murdered hundreds of innocents. Such a transgression could not go unpunished, and Samara had dedicated her efforts to killing D'ranna.

Of course, the former Spectre was no easy prey, and had evaded her pursuit many times. It reminded the Justicar of her bout with the turian Spectre Nihlus. Now, it had seemed that an unusual Geth signal had drawn the Athame Sisters to this lifeless world.

And they had apparently come into conflict with the CAT6 mercenary group, and strangely, what appeared to be Covenant. The bodies of the humans and asari vastly outnumbered the others, but the Covenant had not come out unscathed. Grunts, Jackals, Drones, and even the occasional Brute and Elite littered the ground, half-buried in the sand.

Samara frowned, perplexed by the presence of the alien conglomerate. She knew the stories of the Covenant Empire and how it had fractured at the end of the Human-Covenant War, but she also knew that most of the Covenant Remnants had been wiped out by the Flood during the Great Flood War.

Their presence here was an intriguing conundrum, one which Samara would have to solve at a later date. Right now, she was investigating the interior of the asari cruiser, in order to determine if her quarry was still alive or not.

Reaching the bridge, Samara looked over the bodies of the crew, many of which had signs of being killed by Drones. After a short investigation, the Justicar had no choice but to conclude that D'ranna had not been killed on the ship.

Leaving to investigate the surrounding area for her quarry, she halted at the sound of movement within the halls of the ruined ship. Pulling out her Acolyte pistol, she silently waited, listening for her potential enemy.

A three round burst impacted her biotic barrier, forcing her into cover as another burst flew over where her head was a moment ago. Charging a round, she quickly fired the explosive down the hall, draining her opponent's shields.

Samara followed up with Reave, but her opponent had already retreated into cover, leaving the biotic energy to harmlessly strike a wall. That was when Samara heard muffled cursing coming from where his opponent was hiding.

"Goddamn biotics."

That accent... she knew that voice. An old comrade that she had first met during her travels with Commander Shepard. The old mercenary who was the true founder of the Blue Suns.

"Zaeed?" She called out to the depths of the ship. "Zaeed Massani?"

There was a pause, as the old human registered the use of his name.

"Who the hell wants to know?" Came the reply.

"We first met during our journey with Commander Shepard." The Justicar responded.

There was another moment of silence before Zaeed spoke again.

"Samara? Is that you?"

"It is I." She replied. "It seems that we both have business on this world. And I think it would go a lot smoother if we weren't trying to kill one another."

A moment later, Zaeed stepped out from his cover with a grim laugh.

"That sounds fine by me, love. It's hard to say no to you, especially since you could rip me apart with ease."

The two deadly warriors exited the remains of the asari cruiser, Zaeed relating how he had been hired to locate the remaining forces of CAT6, with Samara quietly listening. He spoke about how the mercenary company had been reduced even further when their attempted ambush against the Normandy had backfired horribly in the face of the ship's new Republic upgrades.

"It was a goddamn massacre!" Zaeed laughed. "The CAT6 fleet may as well been made of cardboard."

"That's true." Samara said, hoping that the soldier of fortune would be quiet.

"Yeah, you'd think that those morons would've learned the consequences of crossing Shepard on the Citadel." Zaeed continued, dashing Samara's hope for peace. "Instead, they go after the Normandy, after it was demonstrated that it could take on half-a-dozen Sovereign-class Reapers. And I thought the Blood Pack was stupid."

Samara didn't bother replying, instead choosing to focus on the task at hand.

"Right, I forgot how much of a sparkling conversationalist you are." Zaeed grumbled.

The two of them lapsed into silence as they explored the sandy ruins. The dust storm reduced visibility significantly, meaning the two of them had to search the wreckage by hand, a process that was taking a long time.

Eventually, Zaeed heard a sound over the storm. It was subtle at first, but it slowly grew louder as it came closer.

"Samara..."

"I hear it, too." The Justicar responded, pulling out her assault rifle.

The noise eventually grew as a pair of lights emerged in the sky. Soon, a one man fighter touched down on the planet surface; a Z-95 Headhunter starfighter to be specific. The occupant leapt out, clad in a brown cloak and desert clothing, with a covered face and a pair of goggles.

"Looks like we've got company." Zaeed muttered, pulling out his sniper rifle.

He took aim at the unaware visitor, but Samara put her hand on the barrel, pushing it away.

"We shouldn't harm this being until we know why he's here."

"Alright, fine." Zaeed grumbled. "We'll follow him, but we stay out of sight."

Meanwhile, their mysterious visitor briefly stood there, before seemingly picking a direction, to the surprise of the experienced warriors. They were already having difficulty navigating through this storm, and yet this person seemed unusually confident as to where he was going.

Another strange thing occured when the cloaked being came across an area covered in corpses. The hooded figure bowed his head, seemingly in mourning, further confusing the Justicar and Mercenary. Whoever this was, this person was clearly not a scavenger. They wouldn't pay much respect to the dead.

Eventually, the former Normandy crew members had followed the stranger to the entrance of a cave within a rock formation. The howling wind had died down when they entered, serving as a safe shelter from the storm. Silently, they followed their quarry through the cave until they saw him stop at some sort of glowing area.

Sneaking a peek around the corner, Zaeed was surprised to see a large Geth device, similar to the one the _Normandy_ crew had encountered on Canalus. With that thought, he realized that it was likely the source of the strange storm that had been occuring for some time.

Meanwhile, the being they had been following had removed his goggles and lifted his hood, revealing him to be a middle-aged human male. He was currently looking over a pair of CAT6 bodies, and had yet to notice Zaeed, who pulled back behind the rock.

As Zaeed motioned to Samara, indicating that there was only a single human, their visitor's voice rang out through the silence.

"You can come out now." When neither Samara nor Zaeed made any movement, the voice continued. "I know you've been following me since I landed."

Quickly, Zaeed rounded the corner, keeping his rifle trained on the mysterious visitor. For her part, Samara came out with her weapon lowered, though it was clear she was ready to respond to any threat with her biotics.

Meanwhile, the figure stood with his hands in the air, in a gesture that indicated he was willing to talk, yet would repsond to any violence directed against him. Samara couldn't help but admire his serenity, though she would consider him a potential threat until she saw otherwise.

Zaeed, meanwhile responded in his typical disposition.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" He politely asked (polite for Zaeed at any rate).

"My name is Jaden Korr." The man responded. "As for what I'm doing here, I'm investigating the geth signal and the source of this odd storm." He gestured towards the cave entrance, then at the machine behind him. "Lo and behold, I found the source."

"How did you track this device?" Samara questioned, her muscles slightly tense. This man was unnaturally tranquil, almost like he was expecting this. "I've been scouring the wrecks for some time and yet I didn't know it was here."

"Don't trust him, Samara." Zaeed growled, the Justicar's suspicions having infected his own attitude. Already, his eyes wavered slightly, looking for signs of an ambush. "For all we know, he's the one who set this up in the first place."

"Wait, did you just say Samara?" Jaden asked, rather calmly for someone who was under the guns of two tense and deadly individuals. "You wouldn't happen to be the famous Justicar, would you?"

Concerned, Samara raised her own weapon, a spike of uncertainty crawling through her skin. Few knew who she was or knew any information about the Justicars. That information was not common knowledge, especially not to someone from the galaxy of the Force.

"You know who I am. I would ask that you tell me who you work for." Samara said, her voice never wavering from a tranquil tone.

As the tense atmosphere lingered, Samara felt a subtle change in the air. All of a sudden, she felt the need to relax, and find peace. Rather than calm her, this had the opposite effect, and judging from Zaeed's bristling, he was feeling the same way.

"Please, put the weapons down," Jaden requested, with an almost mournful tone. "I am not your enemy. I don't want to fight-"

"Goddamn liar!" Zaeed shouted. "Tell your friends outside to stop whatever they're pumping in here, or you die!"

Without warning, Zaeed's assault rifle leapt from his hands, as did Samara's own weapon. They flew into the outstretched hands of their opponent, who caught them with ease. Blood boiling, Zaeed charged forward, omni-blade igniting in his hand.

Jaden ducked underneath the blow, moving faster than a normal human could possibly go. Using his own momentum against him, the younger man tossed Zaeed into the machine behind him.

That was when Samara struck: using Jaden's distraction, she hurled a sphere of biotic energy at the stranger's back. It never connected. With seeming precognition, Jaden leapt over the sphere of violet energy, and turned to the Justicar, holding his outstreched palm towards her.

With a blast of invisible force, Samara was hurled into the cave wall, though fortunately, the impact didn't cause any major injuries. Shaking off her confusion, she made to rise, but halted when she heard a distinctive noise.

The snap-hiss echoed through the cavern, and a blade of yellow energy sprung to life from a silver cylinder in the hands of Jaden Korr. Samara's eyes widened as she saw the unique weapon, and even Zaeed froze at the sight.

"Oh, shit."

"You're a Jedi." The Justicar whispered with a slight awe.

"Yes, I am." He replied, deactivating the blade and returning the hilt to his belt. "Now, perhaps we can have a civil conversation?"

...

Eventually, once the adrenaline had worn off and Samara and Zaeed were allowed to retrieve their weapons, the two of them gave their reasons for coming here. Samara explained that she was hunting the ex-Spectre who was leading the Athame Sisters. Jaden interjected with a question.

"And what do you plan to do with this D'ranna once you've found her?"

"Her punishment will match the severity of her many crimes." Samara replied. "The Code has only one option."

Jaden's eyes narrowed at that. While the Jedi Order held a measure of respect for the Justicars, the fact that these asari were so willing to go for lethal measures kept the Jedi from fully approving of what they did.

Of course, if necessary, the Jedi wouldn't hesitate to take a life, but no matter the severity of one's crime, lethal measures were rarely used as a first resort. Despite his unease, the Jedi gestured for Zaeed to continue his own story.

The mercenary explained that he had been hired to track down the remaining forces of CAT6 in preparation for a full scale strike by a separate PMC, but Zaeed remained tight-lipped about who his employer was.

"Sorry kid, that information is not mine to disclose."

"I'm afraid I must insist," Jaden replied. "I'm currently on an important investigation, and I need to know if you've been in contact with the ones I seek."

"Look kid, I don't actually know who hired me. Our business was done through an intermediary."

It wasn't technically a lie. Zaeed knew Barla Von well enough to know that he was an agent of the Shadow Broker, but at the same time, the volus was careful in his wording to make it seem like the job had come from someone else.

Despite that, Zaeed knew that the request had come from the Shadow Broker, or rather Dr. Liara T'Soni. After the events on the Citadel and the CAT6 ambush of the Normandy, it was almost certain that Liara wanted the mercenary group... removed from power. Still, he had no reason to let this Jedi know that.

"If I may ask, Jedi Korr." Samara interrupted. "What organization are you investigating?"

Jaden looked at them both for a moment before shrugging to himself and pulling out a hologram projector. A 3D image of a red and black tattooed Zabrak appeared in midair in front of them. Zaeed and Samara scowled as they recognized the man. It was hard not to when they knew that he was currently the number one fugitive in the IDA.

"I'm part of the Jedi task force searching for Darth Maul." Jaden said. "Since he's gone to ground, we've been investigating areas where the forces of his Shadow Collective maybe operating."

"And you thought I was working for that monster?" Zaeed asked, with a hint of anger in his voice.

"It was a precaution, I assure you." Jaden replied.

"I must ask," Samara interrupted. "Did you think that the Shadow Collective would be after Geth technology?"

"Well, it is something they would be interested in. Especially to sell on the black market. But I would've investigated these ruins anyway."

"Hehe, I'll bet." Zaeed snorted. "But I think the better question is what actually happened here?"

"And more importantly," Jaden finished. "Where did the survivors go?"

* * *

In orbit over the Forest Moon of Endor, space was quiet and still. That stillness was shattered by a blue and white rift opening, followed by the emergence of the assault carrier in orbit. The _Intention's Eye_ descended into the atmosphere like a whale into the depths of the ocean.

Even with the historical significance of this moon, Endor had been all but forgotten by the various powers in this galaxy, due to it's reputation as a 'deserted island in space.' Because of this, no one batted an eye as the silver-white assault carrier entered the moon's orbit and proceeded toward the surface.

Normally, any FTL drive or hyperdrive would've required a complex series of jumps to even get to the moon, and more than a few had ended up causing the spacecraft to become shipwrecked due to the nearby stellar anomalies. However, traveling through slipspace bypassed all of that, allowing the _Intention's Eye_ to arrive without incident.

Some of their newer passengers had recommended travel into the nearby Unknown Regions, but unlike them, Laccabeus was no fool. The Chieftan knew that the Empire of the Hand was active in that area. They were a grave threat on their own and if they so chose, could end up bringing the wrath of the Republic down on them.

Besides, after so many years on that desert world, the Covenant forces were happy for a change of scenery. The Kig-Yar were happy to salvage any useful technology left over from the Galactic Civil War. Most of the Jiralhanae were fine with fresh air and something to do. Besides, many of them wanted to know how the native wildlife tasted.

The _Intention's Eye_ came to rest in the savannah overlooking a chain of mountains, and several dozen kilometers from a nearby forest. Hovering two kilometers over the ground, the Carrier's ventral gravity lift activated, disgorging a large assault force of Brutes, Elites, Jackals, Hunters and Grunts onto the ground.

They were closely followed by several flights of Phantoms, holding the supplies and prefabricated structures to set up camp at the base of the lift, while four Banshee squadrons initiated patrol patterns in a radius of 6 kilometers from the mothership.

In the shadow of the carrier, the Covenant camp took shape, slowly turning into a fortress as the sun fell. A pair of stealth pylons were erected, masking the Covenant's position from all but the most determined sensors that could possibly detect them. The gas giant in orbit prevented night from getting too dark, and the camp was completed within hours, causing most of the troops to emigrate to the surface.

Laccabeus stood in the center of the camp, watching as his forces set up their tents and guard towers, effectively turning the place into a fortress. Activating a voice modulater, the Chieftan spoke into it.

"Listen up!"

Hundreds of eyes turned to their Shipmaster, eagerly awaiting what he had to say.

"For the last several years, we have been marooned on that desert planet. We endured the hardships, the sorrow... the boredom." This elicited chuckles from both Sangheili and Jiralhanae. "But, now we are free. Free to roam the stars once more. Free to fight the strongest opponents, free to take what we please! So rest well tonight, my brothers and sisters, for tomorrow the hunting of this world begins!"

Laccabeus raised his hammer in the air like a banner, drawing cheers from the assembled forces. As the celebration died down, he heard the approach of the newly freed asari and human forces.

"Why even bother coming to this backwater?" D'ranna asked, unable to keep the disdain from her voice. "Why not just reduce this worthless ball to glass?"

"And why would I do that?" Laccabeus responded. "There is no need to destroy such a vibrant world teeming with life. Especially when it provides so much food, as well as a variety of enemies."

He turned to regard his new allies of circumstance.

"Now, I would suggest you get some rest as well. Jiralhanae and Sangheili tend to wake up early, and at dawn, we shall see what you all are truly capable of." There was no mistaking the underlying threat in his words.

With that, the Shipmaster returned to the gravity lift, rising into the belly of his ship.

"Looks like someone's too good to sleep on the ground." A CAT6 soldier muttered as the asari and humans split off into groups.

Once they were out of earshot, D'ranna's second looked at her commander.

"It's a risk to deal with these savages." She whispered. "For all we know, they intend to use _us_ as sport."

"They're not the Yautja." Someone else retorted, "They're not going to use us as prey."

"I share your concerns, sister." D'ranna interrupted, forestalling any argument. "Which is why we'll play along for now, until Laccabeus' forces are fully occupied with their... playtime."

"Then what?"

"Then we hijack the Carrier and leave them all to rot on this planet." D'ranna smiled. "Or burn it to a crisp, whichever works."

The asari nodded in approval at the plan, unaware of the Unggoy listening to every word. Meanwhile, D'ranna headed towards her sleeping quarters with her fellow asari. As she prepared to sleep, her mind drifted back to the events that got her kicked off the Spectres and branded her as an outcast.

* * *

_It had been after a joint mission with Commander Shepard and his crew. The Spectres had been ordered to perform a recon mission against a group of political dissidents that were against the foundation of the IDA._

_It was supposed to be a routine mission, something off the books from the rest of the IDA governments. If any of them found out about the Spectre mission, it would ignite a political shitstorm if not a war._

_So naturally, D'ranna subtly botched the mission while making it look like Shepard's fault, revealing their presence and starting a firefight. When all was said and done, the governments of the Galactic Alliance, UEG, Galactic Federation and the Citadel Council were not happy._

_In order to placate everyone, the Council had held a trial with the Spectres involved, with many important dignitaries from the other governments there as well. What she couldn't fathom were the three individuals that were granted access to the trial floor._

_One was a Predator, which on its own was pretty strange, as the Yautja were known to be disliked by most of the IDA governments for their hunting culture. What was even odder was the fact that he was allowed to keep his weapons and armor on, including his bio-mask._

_The other two were humans, but no less strange. The first one was a fairly tall blond woman, with her hair tied back in a ponytail, and clad in a form-fitting blue bodysuit that had strange purple-pink symbols on her chest and left hand. A small holster with a strange pistol was on her hip, but other than that, she was unarmed._

_But it was the third individual that was even stranger. He was another human, a male with brown hair, looking no older than in his late twenties. He was clad in oddly very casual clothing of archaic jeans and T-shirt and was devoid of any visible weapons on his person. Despite all that, he seemed to radiate power._

_Still, D'ranna had initially payed them no mind, and was supremely confident in her chances to throw Shepard to the wolves. On the stand in front of everyone, she told the lie that should've gotten the Commander convicted and burned._

_But to her complete shock, the Council had chosen to hear Shepard's version of the story over hers. Vehemently, she had protested, only for the Commander to pull out evidence that offered undeniable proof that she had been responsible for this event. Though she never knew how, the data had been gained from the Shadow Broker._

_There was an uproar from the IDA dignitaries as several of them began calling for her blood. Enraged at the Council's willingness to turn on her, and furious at Shepard's ability to get off freely, she had intended to end the life of that smug human once and for all._

_"You ignorant ape!" She yelled, flaring her biotics with the intention of reducing the Commander to a smear on the ground._

_Before anyone could stop her, she charged in a wave of violet light, heading straight for Shepard. She never reached him. In defiance of all sense, she came to sudden halt as she was yanked out of her charge with a hand around her neck. The unarmed kid on the floor had somehow moved into her path in less than a second and managed to pull her out of her biotic aura._

_Flaring up again, she attempted to strike him, only to find her biotics had no effect. Eyes widening at this revelation, D'ranna became aware of the hushed silence falling over the crowd. At first she thought it was just because of the impossible event that had just occured but when she looked down her eyes widened even further and her jaw dropped._

_He was hovering a meter above the ground, with no means of propulsion._

_"What are you?" She choked out, utterly terrified of the man in front of her. He simply glared at her before tossing her into the ground._

_The Yautja Hunter had already had targeting lasers trained on her, as two Plasma Casters had appeared on the creature's shoulders. The blond woman had donned some sort of gold-orange power armor with a glowing green visor and lights, and a large cannon that replaced her right arm (and which was also trained on her)._

_Several C-Sec officers rushed to the floor, weapons also trained on her while the kid just lowered himself to the ground._

_"She's all yours." He said, gesturing for the two armored warriors to follow him._

_There was still a hushed silence as the crowd watched him leave the room. Despite that, no one bothered to stop or question the child or his compatriots as D'ranna was secured by biotic dampening restraints and taken to a maximum security prison._

_And that was the last time she had ever seen Commander Shepard or the child in person._

* * *

In prison, she still had access to some current events from rumors and whispers of new inmates. From them, it became apparent that she had met the future Supreme Commander of the Republic.

That indignity had inspired righteous fury against him, but the sheer physics defying feat he had pulled still terrified her beyond all measure. D'ranna had remained in prison for several decades, until the chaos of the Great Flood War allowed her to escape in the chaos of a major attack on the prison.

After her escape, she had founded the Athame Sisters and made a living with their help, often hiring themselves off to the highest bidder, mainly the more unscrupulous asari criminals and businesswomen.

Since her escape, she had occasionally entertained the idea of going after Shepard or the Republic Supreme Commander, but the former had apparently been given an upgraded ship by the Republic, and trying to go after the latter would be suicide.

Still, she had no clue how things had gone so wrong. Especially to the point where she was now at the beck and call of some jumped up Covenant warlord, with the punishment for failing him being the possibility of getting eaten.

And yet, she could strike back. As she drifted off to sleep, she began dreaming of all the ways she could take over that Carrier. She would succeed and the Athame Sisters would leave the humans and the Covenant to rot.

That was what D'ranna promised to herself, and she vowed to make it a reality.

* * *

Laccabeus emerged into the bay of the ship, where his second-in-command was waiting. Makterbus stood below his Shipmaster, but his loyalty to the High-Chieftain was unwavering.

After all, it was he who would hold the ship until he returned from his mission.

"High-Chieftain, the scans have pinpointed its location. It's somewhere in a mountain range, 200 kilometers from here."

"Does anyone else know?" Laccabeus quietly asked.

"No one but the Huragok, you, me, the rest of the Chieftains, and Commanders Erda 'Renad and Halmat." Makterbus replied hesitantly, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Laccabeus.

"What concerns you, Makterbus?" The smaller Chieftain looked down at the floor, before raising his head.

"Shipmaster... shouldn't we inform the crew of our discovery? They will be pleased to hear that we found something-"

"We will inform them," Laccabeus promised, placing a hand on the Brute's shoulder. "But only after I can confirm it's here. We can't give the crew any false hope."

"As you command, High-Chieftain." Makterbus bowed. "I will inform War Chieftain Wrakus to have his pack meet you on your Lich."

"Very good. Do you have any other concerns?" Makterbus nodded.

"Shipmaster, I do not think it's wise to trust the humans and asari." He said. "They will surely attempt to steal the ship for themselves."

"That's why I leave the Eye's security in your capable hands." Laccabeus grinned sadistically. "Keep whatever forces you need to ensure that they can't take control of the ship."

At that, Makterbus returned his superior's sadist smile. "As you wish Shipmaster. We shall hold the ship until your return."


	6. Endor Devastation

Chapter 6

Two days later, there was a flurry of activity from the Covenant forces. The army began splitting up into several divisions, the largest of which began making its way towards the crash sites from the Battle of Endor.

While most of the vehicular forces made their way into the plains and deserts, Halmat was to lead six fully loaded Covenant Phantoms to the nearby forest, in the hope of finding a variety of foodstuffs.

The Spec Ops commander had volunteered for this assignment, on the basis that any possible offworld threats would choose the forest as a landing zone, due to the abundance of leftover Imperial Military hardware.

Halmat's Elites would recon the forest, while the Jiralhanae-led ground teams would scavenge and hunt down some of the indigenous inhabitants of this world. That's not to say that Halmat's Phantoms were loaded solely with infantry.

Four of the Phantoms were carrying two Brute Choppers each, with a total of eight of the Brute war machines carving a path through the dense undergrowth. The sub-commanders had initially requested a few Ghosts instead, but relented when they realized that the Boosted-gravity drives would be hard pressed to deal with the forested terrain.

In contrast, the Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle was perfect for this type of work, easily capable of tearing through vegetation using its massive front wheels, while the 35mm autocannons would make short work of any animal that crossed their path. That is if they weren't eviscerated by the massive front wheels.

Soon, the convoy of Phantoms had reached the edge of the forest, deploying their lances as they hovered over the ground. Halmat was the first to exit, leaping out of the side hatch of the lead Phantom. Once the rest of the scouting group had been deployed, he gave them their orders.

"Jiral'han, move up ahead. Clear a path through the forest." No sooner had he said that, then the Jiralhanae bikers sprung ahead, several Unggoy leaping out of the way of the reckless charge.

Shaking his head in both annoyance and amusement, Halmat continued. "Phantoms, remain within communication range. We may need air cover and fast extraction. Everyone else, with me. Let's get this done."

The Lances and Files began their sweep, moving through the undergrowth while the Choppers carved their paths through. There was a brief incident where a Grunt got bitten by some strange creature hiding in the tree, but that was taken care of when the Unggoy put an overcharged plasma bolt into the opening of trunk. For a while, the tedious work was beginning to get to the pride of the Sangheili and many began questioning why Spec Ops were necessary for this role.

The silence and any dissenting thoughts were shattered by a loud crack and the squawks and screams of the Covenant forces rising in the air.

A lance of Unggoy and Kig-Yar were suspended in midair by a rope net. Some of the new Unggoy had seen a bunch of meat sitting on a stick and had rushed toward it. The Kig-Yar attempted to stop them (or claim it for themselves) when they set off the trap. Growling in exasperation, the Minor Elite squad leader unsheathed his energy dagger and cut the line, sending the forces back to the ground.

"Ignorant fools!" The Elite roared. "Test my patience again and I shall scatter your blood all over the forest floor!"

"Enough!" Halmat shouted. "Stay on guard. There may be more."

The group resumed their trek through the forest, now alert for more traps and tense at any sound. In the distance, the roar of the Choppers provided an ambient background noise, occasionally interrupted by the squeaking of some animal as the massive war machines tore them apart.

The ambience was shattered once again by a strange hoot followed by the howl of a Jiralhanae and the high-pitched whine of a plasma rifle. Everyone tensed at the sound which a Brute Minor reported as the appearance of a strange furry biped even smaller than the Unggoy.

"An Ewok." Halmat said as he looked over the corpse. "One of the predominant species that inhabits this moon."

"Ha ha." One Elite snorted, looking at the clothing and weaponry. "These must breed faster than the Unggoy to stay alive."

"Don't underestimate them." The Spec Ops commander sternly warned. "Historical records indicate that they are more dangerous than they seem."

Halmat's words were prophetic. Less than an hour later, a large explosion echoed through the forest as one of the Choppers was consumed in a large fireball. Apparently, the Ewoks had set a trap using leftover Imperial explosives.

This was just the start, as dozens of Ewoks rose from their hiding place and attacked. The arrows, spears and rocks of the natives did little to slow the Covenant advance, but some of them had still functioning blasters from previous conflicts and were putting them to good use.

"Return fire!"

Bolts of plasma, needle shards, spiker rounds and plasma, spike and flame grenades lit up the jungle as the Covenant forces retaliated in force. Though the blasters were sufficient enough to kill some of the Grunts, the shield gauntlets of the Kig-Yar and the personal shields of the Elites and Brutes weathered the storm, with the more primitive weapons barely worth noticing.

Soon, the Ewoks retreated as the relentless march of the Covenant continued. Eventually, they had found the Ewok home; a village mounted in the treetops. The height gave the furry creatures an advantage, but that was about to change.

"Jiral'ja engage!"

A pair of Phantoms emerged and hovered over the trees, the nose-mounted cannon and side mounted turrets spraying plasma at the Ewoks below. This was just a distraction, as several squads of Jiralhanae Jumpers emerged from the side hatches and landed on the wooden paths of the village, some even crushing houses as they landed.

The Jump pack-equipped Brutes leapt from platform to platform, mercilessly gunning down Ewoks with barely restrained delight. Spike rounds and Brute shot explosives tore through the wooden dwellings with ludicrous ease, as flames consumed all that remained.

Through all that, Halmat and his forces on the ground had little more to do other than mop up any stragglers.

"Bah," One of Halmat's Elites grunted. "This is a waste of our time. These primitives are no threat in the face of our power."

"Don't be so sure of that." Another Elite replied. "After all, did we not use to think the same about the humans?"

"At least the humans fought with more effective weapons." The first Elite retorted. "These creatures have no hope against us."

"Yet they continue to resist." All eyes briefly flicked to Halmat as he entered the conversation. "These Ewoks do not have our technological advantages, yet they still fight on. A warrior must admire their tenacity, if nothing else. Their courage could put many Unggoy to shame."

The dissenting Sangheili was silent after that. And after a very short time, all the attacking Ewoks were either dead, dying or had fled into the woods. Having faced live combat, the Covenant forces advanced with renewed zeal, eager for another challenge.

That was when a Spec Ops Sangheili shimmered into view in front of Halmat, bowing his head in respect and deference.

"Report."

"Commander, I've located something unusual." The scout reported. "Humanoid tracks, mixed with signs of anti-gravity technology and walker usage. I don't think we're alone on this world."

Halmat frowned at the potential complication. "This could be a problem." He muttered. "Show me where you found these tracks." He gestured to a nearby Jiralhanae. "You, come with me. The rest of you, continue with your tasks."

* * *

A force of Prowlers and Ghosts made their way over the plains when the gunner on the lead Prowler spotted a strange rock jutting out from the ground. Calling for the convoy to stop, they investigated this marking and realized that other sentients may be nearby.

"Onwards, brothers!" A Jiralhanae Captain Ultra shouted. "Let us see if these next beings will provide us with a good feast!"

The Covenant made their way over the hills and it wasn't long before they came across a large stone building. The legion made their way to the front of this strange castle, and found that they caught these strange humanoids off guard.

And drunk.

"Halt!" One of the gate guards shouted in badly accented Basic. "You are trespassing on Marauder grounds. Explain your purpose here."

The leading Jiralhanae Captain looked at his troops and shrugged.

"We desire an audience with your leader. To discuss... an alliance."

The drunk guard paused and then nodded, to the surprise of the Sangheili and Jiralhanae: they hadn't actually expected these Sanyassans to acquiesce to this request so easily. But if they could get inside this castle without a fight, then crippling this potential threat would be easy. Eventually, it was decided that a small group from this Covenant legion would meet with the Marauder leader.

Initially, the Sangheili were wary that the Sanyassans were leading them into a trap, but as they squeezed through the proportionally small hallways, the more it became obvious that these Marauders were not the most intelligent of their species, as demonstrated when one deliberately poured water on an ancient piece of equipment, which immediately short-circuited.

Eventually the small detachment reached what appeared to be a throne room, where a large group of Sanyassans had gathered. Most of them were drinking and laughing, with seemingly no reason for what they were doing. Even the appearance of aliens that they had likely never seen before barely seemed to raise a stir.

The main exception was a rather tall Sanyassan, sitting on what appeared to be a makeshift throne derived from some kind of Captain's chair. The Sanyassan sized them up, as the Brute Captain walked up towards him.

"We are emissaries of the great Covenant Shipmaster Laccabeus." The Captain said. "To whom are we speaking to?"

"I am King Zakul, son of the Great Terak." The Sanyassan responded. "And now, outsiders have come to grant us the gift of the Power."

The Sanyassan king stood up to his chair, and rose to his full height. Though the Brutes and Elites still towered over him, Zakul was either really brave or really foolish. Regardless, the Covenant had no intent of being ordered around by these upstart Marauders.

"And if we refuse to help you?" The Brute carefully asked. Zakul frowned.

"Then you and your kind will be doomed."

The Jiralhanae and Sangheili forces began laughing, and even some Unggoy and Kig-Yar joined in.

"Oh, I don't think so."

With that, a Brute backhanded the nearest Sanyassan into the wall, spine breaking on impact.

"Kill them!" Zakul ordered. "Kill them all!"

The Marauders complied, unleashing blaster fire on the Brutes and Elites first, but the only effect this had was to cause their shields to flare. The Covenant responded with bursts from their own weapons.

Needler shards flew through the air, embedding themselves in the bodies of several Marauders. They detonated seconds later, turning the Sanyassans into pink mist and cooking off the volatile blaster packs on them.

Several other Sanyassans had already been pinned to the wall by dozens of Spiker rounds, looking like grotesque pieces of artwork. Panicking, the Marauders began fleeing through the tunnels as the Covenant lay waste to the Keep.

The surviving Sanyassan Marauders made their way to the backup camps that were scattered around the Forest Moon, leaving the Covenant to level their former Stronghold and scavenge what remained.

...

In one of those camps, the surviving Sanyassans gathered, despondent at their change of fortune. Zakul himself couldn't believe how badly the Marauders had been beaten. They were the invincible masters of the stars, they should be superior to anyone who dared to challenge them. And yet, these 'Covenant' had kicked the Sanyassans out of their fortress, before turning it to glass.

On his father's name, Zakul swore he would find a way to get back at these Covenant for destroying their home. But that would come later. For now, he had to concentrate on rallying the surviving Marauders before ensuring that no one else on the moon would take their territory.

That was when his scouts returned from the forest. Apparently, there had been some landings taking place among the old structures built by the white armored invaders, though according to the scouts, it wasn't just them returning.

Curious, Zakul ordered two of his Marauders back to the forest, to report and observe on just who else had come to their world.

* * *

A force consisting of two Wraiths, a dozen Ghosts and six Choppers made their way into the Endorian Desert of Salma, specifically towards the lair of the nigh-mythical Gorax. Commander Sato and her CAT6 soldiers had been assigned to this group.

A number of Brutes wanted to take this powerful creature down, for no other reason than bragging rights. And the troops of CAT6 now had the misfortune of joining these brutal alien killers in their little quest for sport.

Sighing in annoyance, Sato could only watch from her position in one of the Mako tanks that the Covenant had bothered to scavenge from that desert planet as the Brutes and their subordinate species drove through the vast desert, occasionally bouts of sadistic laughter echoing from the large ape-like beings.

It would be so tempting to just take a shot: to strike these Covenant while their backs were turned. But what would be the point? Even if she and her mercenaries could maintain the element of surprise and wipe them out, they'd still have to contend with an assault carrier filled with bloodthirsty aliens.

And as much as she hated Laccabeus for what he did to the Bladski brothers, she still had a duty to what remained of her soldiers, and she'd be damned if she didn't take that role seriously. She had taken it very seriously when the bulk of CAT6's naval forces were wiped out by the upgraded _Normandy_.

* * *

_The mercenary forces of CAT6 were not overly large when compared to groups like the Blue Suns, Blood Pack and Eclipse. In fact the bulk of their forces consisted of a few cruisers and frigates, barely a fraction of the type of battlefleet held by the Eclipse alone._

_Yet after the Reaper war had decimated everyone else, CAT6's forces had survived with much more to spare and now they intended to put it to good use. The location of the_ Normandy _and Commander Shepard had been offered by the Shadow Broker to the highest bidder._

_And CAT6 was the lucky winner._

_Sato watched as her fleet of top of the line warships converged on the location of the_ Normandy SR-2 _. According to the Broker's intel, the ship had undergone extensive refits and would be vulnerable. A vulnerability she planned to take advantage of by pouring fire from the_ Deliverance _into the heart of the stealth frigate._

_She wasn't stupid of course. She had reconnitered the area to insure that no Alliance forces were nearby. None of the other powers in the InterDimensional Alliance would care this much about Shepard's activities and according to news reports, the Republic and Separatists were still locked in a fairly vicious conflict._

_Still, Sato banished those thoughts when the sensor operator reported sighting the_ Normandy _. The ship was just sitting there, out in the open, hundreds of thousands of kilometers from the nearby asteroid field or any other planets._

_That alone should have set up alarm bells in Sato's head, but she was so consumed by bloodlust and trust in the Broker's intel that she ignored the signs and had the ships converge on the_ Normandy.

_"All weapons have target lock." The weapon's officer reported. "Firing solutions are ready."_

_"Then blow that ship out of the sky!" Sato shouted._

_A wave of mass accelerator fire and disrupter torpedos leapt from the warships and accelerated towards the helpless frigate. Sato watched in eager anticipation as the projectiles closed in..._

_But they never impacted. To the utter shock of everyone, the_ Normandy _weathered all the shots like it was a cloud of rain. The barriers didn't even seem like they were straining. And that was another thing; it seemed like the_ Normandy _had been upgraded with some form of energy shielding._

_The disrupter torpedos were having very little effect, and the rounds just shattered on impact with the shields. Enraged, Sato ordered GARDIAN lasers to engage the stealth frigate, but like everything else, they were absorbed by the barriers._

_Then just when they thought things couldn't get any worse, the_ Normandy _vanished. Not just from normal sensors but also from sight. The ship's vaunted stealth systems seemed to have been replaced with a true cloaking device, a piece of technology that only the Republic had access to in bulk._

_A cold sense of dread swept over Sato as she realized just how badly CAT6 was screwed. From what she could tell, the_ Normandy _had been upgraded with Republic technology, and not even the Shadow Broker could've known that when the intel was sold. Or so she thought, anyway._

_"Everybody fall back!" Sato shouted over the comms. "Get out of here!"_

_But the order came too late. One by one, the CAT6 frigates and cruisers were destroyed by bolts of energy that appeared from nowhere, plus occasional missiles which gutted frigates with ease._

_The fleet tried to fight back, targeting the spots where the shots had come from, but each time, the_ Normandy _had already gone. Eventually, all that remained of CAT6's naval forces were a few damaged frigates and the_ Deliverance _, which had been completely ignored by the cloaked frigate._

_The reason was obvious: they were being merciful, but also making a point. As much as Sato wanted to take her revenge against Commander Shepard, she knew she was outclassed, and she had a duty to the surviving mercenaries to get them to safety._

_Seething, Commander Sato nevertheless ordered the few surviving ships to limp away from the battle. This was the last shot she had taken at Shepard, especially since the Great Flood war broke out a few years later._

* * *

Her thoughts were interrupted when the Covenant convoy abruptly halted at the base of a fairly large mountain. Halfway up, a large stone cave could be seen, with crude carvings outside. It seemed that they had found what they were looking for.

"Now what?" One soldier asked.

"Now, we lure the creature out." A Jiralhanae voice replied, as the questioner had been unaware his radio was still on.

"And how do we do that?" Sato rhetorically asked, seconds before the answer came in the form of plasma fire.

The Wraiths began shelling the Gorax fortress, melting holes inside with the volatile plasma mortars. This was done in the hopes of drawing the massive beast out, and soon that hope was answered.

Enraged at the damage to its home, the thirty-meter tall Gorax emerged from its lair, armed with a massive club. In its mind, the creature was more than ready to destroy the outsiders that would dare to attack the mighty Gorax.

The Ghosts and Choppers fired, the plasma cannons of the former were merely annoying the massive predator, while the latter clearly had more of an effect, causing the Gorax to roar in pain.

It retaliated with a swing of its club, sending two Choppers flying and causing the remaining vehicles to take evasive maneuvers. The twin Wraiths fired a volley, but the Gorax was relatively quick for its size, avoiding the slow moving blue comets.

That was when Sato decided just to fire directly on the creature with the Mako's main gun. The explosion struck center mass, causing the giant to stumble back. Still, this only seemed to enrage it further, as the Gorax now lunged for the CAT6 vehicle.

"Shit!"

She put the tank in reverse, fighting against the legendarily poor handling of the IFV. But the Gorax was faster than any being that size had a right to be, and soon the hairy giant was upon them.

"Everyone out!" Sato screamed, leaping out the hatch right behind her men.

She just made it. The blunt club slammed into the Mako's side, sending the vehicle rolling away. Spinning around, Sato could see the giant bearing down on them, looking at the humans like they were insects.

That was when a plasma mortar impacted the Gorax's back, which drew a horrified howling from the giant before it toppled to the ground. The remaining Covenant vehicles took potshots at the monster's prone form, making sure that it was actually dead.

"Well fought, human." A Brute war chieftain walked up to the ex-N7. "Few would be brave enough to take a beast like that head on."

The Mako was still in decent shape, and with the help of several Brutes, the humans got it the right way up again. As the mercenaries drove back, they left some of their escorts behind, while a few Phantoms began towing the Gorax corpse back to the camp.

Groaning in disgust, Sato settled back to rest as her soldiers directed the Mako back alongside several Ghosts. However, it wasn't too long before she was interrupted by the gunner who reported an unusual reading on the sensors.

"Well, what is it?" The weary ex-N7 snapped.

"We're picking up mercenary IFF's on long-range scanners." The Specialist reported. "They're native to our galaxy, but as best I can tell, they're not the Athame Sisters."

Sato frowned, looking at the board. "If it's not us, and it's not them, then who else is here?"

_And more importantly,_ she thought, _how can I use them to get away from here?_

* * *

D'ranna stood in the bay of the Covenant dropship, surrounded by a couple asari and several mixed Covenant squads. The asari were unconfortable with the lack of any comforting asthetics within the Phantom; there wasn't even a place for them to sit down.

Normally, the asari wouldn't mind such interaction, but the Athame Sisters weren't thrilled with being so close to the disgusting odors of the Covenant species. Nor were they really happy about what they were supposed to do:

They were supposed to join in Covenant raids among several Ewok villages built near a lake. While D'ranna wasn't averse to killing the furry bipeds, the ex-Spectre knew it was beneath her and a waste of her time.

She suspected that Laccabeus had ordered the Athame Sisters to partake in this in order to keep them away from the _Intention's Eye_. The Brute Shipmaster may be aware of her machinations. _So be it. We asari are nothing if not patient._

Breaking out of her musings, she felt the atmosphere in the troop bay get charged as the Grunts, Jackals, Brutes and Elites tensed up in preparation. The troop doors on each side of the Phantom opened, allowing natural light to flourish in place of the previously dominant purple lighting.

They were closing in on their targets.

D'ranna watched from the door of the Phantom as a pair of Banshees strafed the wooden stilt villages. The boiling plasma and explosive fuel rods lit the weak structures on fire, several of which fell smoldering into the lake below.

The furry Ewoks ran around in panic, though some chose to fight for what little good it did. Plasma bolts from the aerial fliers and Phantom chin and side turrets raked through the small creatures, leaving them screaming in pain.

A few other Brutes took potshots from the side hatches, laughing as they did so. None of them even bothered to get out of the dropships, as this village was already in ruins and most of the inhabitants were dead.

The next lake village was much more heavily defended, dozens of armed Ewoks ready for battle. Even more surprising was when catapulted rocks clipped one of the Banshees, forcing it to retreat.

"Take us down!" An Elite shouted. "We will take the fight to them!"

The Phantom hovered near the one of the small cliffs that connected the Ewok villages with the shore. As a result, most of the squads simply stepped onto the ground and made their way across the wooden bridges.

But not the Athame Sisters. No, they had been ordered to stay back, and let the Covenant handle the bulk of the killing. At this point, D'ranna was willing to bet Laccabeus was just making a point about his own power over them.

This incensed the ex-Spectre, but for now, she played along, watching as the squads of Covenant rampaged throughout the village. She saw the whole scenario with a dispassionate interest, when she noticed a small squad of Grunts and Jackals were actually having trouble outside one building.

"Pilot, take us down!" She shouted, gesturing to the conflict below.

To the pilot's credit, he saw what was happening and didn't argue, instead setting the Phantom on a course over the wooden platform. D'ranna gestured to the other asari as they closed on the position, and once they were over the fight, they made their move.

D'ranna leapt out of the dropship and onto the walkway, using her biotics to slow her fall. Beside her, one of her commandos got hit by an arrow, the primitive projectile being too slow to trigger the kinetic barrier. Unfortunately, the neurotoxin-tipped arrow found a soft spot, and she died in extreme pain.

Enraged, D'ranna unleashed a biotic shockwave which sent every Ewok on the walkway flying, their innards pulverized from the concentrated dark energy. The massive shockwave threw the bodies of the dimunitive humanoids off the platforms and into the water.

"Well done." D'ranna turned to see a Brute Major with a look of approval on his face. "You have potential."

Rather than be complimented, D'ranna felt disgusted by the Jiralhanae's approval. Fortunately for her, the Brute either didn't notice or care and turned away, leaving her to impotently flare her biotics before moving on to the next group.

Taking out her frustrations on the Ewoks, she and her commandos accounted for at least a couple dozen fatalities for the primitive creatures. Calming slightly, D'ranna was about to make her way back to the Phantoms when another asari came up to her.

"Uh, ma'am." She started. "Our sensors are picking up mercenary IFFs at long range."

"And how is that relevant?" D'ranna growled. "We know CAT6 is with another group of Covenant."

"You misunderstand." Her aide replied. "These are on the opposite direction we know CAT6 went. Furthermore, the IFFs indicate that they belong to the Blue Suns, Blood Pack and Eclipse."

D'ranna froze at that statement, a new plan already forming in her mind. Soon, a wide psychotic grin split her face as an idea came to mind. But unknown to the asari, a single cloaked Sangheili had been listening to every word.

* * *

The largest Covenant force consisted of a dozen Wraith tanks, half a dozen Phantoms loaded to the brim with troopers, as well as two Deutoros Scarab walkers. The force made their way to what the Covenant recon flight had discovered.

A crashed Imperial Star Destroyer, almost completely structurally intact. Many Kig-Yar almost salivated at the thought of the riches that might be contained within. As the force grew closer, they found themselves to be disappointed;

The exterior weapons were missing, no doubt cannibalized when the ship first crashed here, and they would be lucky if the interior was any better. Nevertheless, Commander Erda 'Renad gave the order to enter the wreckage.

The Phantoms took position over the wreck, four of them deploying lances of Jackals commanded by either a Jiralhanae or Sangheili Minor. The final two Phantoms released a swarm of Yanme'e, who began scouring the wreck for salvage.

The Covenant made their way inside through the holes in the interior, looking for anything useful. Meanwhile, on the ground, Commander 'Renad and his second in command were having a discussion about the ship.

"I can't believe those fools would build a ship with a bridge like that." Loka, Erda's second remarked, gesturing to the command tower. "You might as well paint a massive target that says, 'shoot me!'"

"And yet, by all accounts," Erda replied. "These were, and still are, formidable machines of war."

"One wonders why." Loka snorted. "If even the Republic use these vessels, it's a wonder they're the multiversal superpower."

"They only use the frame," Erda retorted. "They've removed the design flaws, including moving the bridge from the command tower."

"How do you know this?" Loka demanded.

"Did you never bother to study our foes during our time between universes?" Erda asked.

Loka just hung his head in shame and embarassment. He hadn't actually done his homework while the crew of the _Intention's Eye_ had been hiding in the recesses of civilized space. He'd been too busy training and dueling his fellow Sangheili swordsman on the carrier.

Before any further dialogue could be held, the two Sangeheili were interrupted by an incoming call from the squads on the Destroyer's bridge. Erda smiled. It seemed that something of interest had been found.

Answering the device, he was greeted by the sight of a Jiralhanae Major.

"Commander 'Renad," The Brute greeted. "We've arrived at the bridge and the Kig-Yar and Unggoy are scavenging what they can now."

"Did they find anything of value?" Erda asked.

"Some scattered pieces of technology, nothing overly impressive." The Major replied. "However, one of the Unggoy was able to reactivate the ship's sensors, and according to their scans, there are Imperial IFF signals on the planet."

"That's hardly surprising." Loka interrupted. "Even decades after their war, they still wouldn't have recovered all the equipment they had left behind."

"Forgive me, Sub-Commander, but you misunderstand. These signals are active and moving. Live Imperials are somewhere on the planet, though because of the damage, we can't ascertain their direct location."

"Could it be the Empire of the Hand?" Erda said, concerned not so much at the prospect of fighting those Imperials, but rather at the prospect of them summoning the Republic.

The Jiralhanae turned away from the screen for a moment and barked the question to someone off-screen. After getting a shrill reply from an Unggoy, he turned back and shook his head, to the Elite commander's relief.

"It's unlikely." The Brute clarified. "Apparently the IFFs are older signals, too defunct to be members of the Empire of the Hand."

"It still remains that we have a potential enemy here." Erda murmered, more to himself than the Brute. "I shall contact the Shipmaster and inform him of this development. In the meantime, keep scanning for those signals and salvage what you can."

The Brute nodded and closed the communication. Loka turned to Commander 'Renad, with a neutral look on his face.

"It appears we may have a new opponent." He said with a hint of eagerness.

"Indeed."

* * *

Elsewhere, near the top of Endor's coldest mountain, a lone Covenant Lich was hovering near a large cave, disgorging a large pack of Jiralhanae and a squad of Sangheili from the craft's gravity lift.

The final passenger arrived once his forces were all in defensive positions. Laccabeus touched down on the mountaintop, his feet sinking into the snow. With nary a shiver at the bitter cold, the Chieftain activated his comlink and listened to the report.

"This is the location the Luminary revealed." War Chieftain Wrackus reported from the Lich's interior. "We shall remain on station until you return, Shipmaster."

"Very good. You four!" Laccabeus pointed to four of his Jiralhanae. "Remain here and guard the entrance. Everyone else," He gestured to the cave. "With me."

The specialized Covenant force, consisting of some of Laccabeus' best troops, made their way into the interior of the cavern. They weren't walking long until they found what they were seeking: a large door made of stone, large enough to fly a Phantom through. The patterns and lights decorating the wall were of unknown make to Laccabeus, but the symbol at the bottom of the door was:

It was the Forerunner symbol for Reclaimer, previously thought by the Covenant to mean Reclamation. The Brute Chieftain frowned. He hadn't expected this to require a Reclaimer's touch to open, but then he noticed that the door was already unlocked.

"Someone's already been here." The Sangheili's report confirmed his suspicions. "We may be too late."

"Open the door." The Shipmaster ordered. "Weapons up."

The Covenant warriors did as commanded, weapons trained on the door as it slowly slid open, revealing a small pathway into a relatively large room, with a circular dias at the end. A pedastal sat in the middle of the dias, while two odd statues of strange birdlike beings sat behind it and two each side, seemingly guarding it.

Carefully, the Covenant forces walked along the pathway, weapons sweeping for any potential threats. Laccabeus was more focused on the murals in the room itself. Carved from stone, with occasionally lines of glowing light, the images depicted on the walls showed a basic representation of several humans, some unknown beings resembling birds, Reapers and larger humans, and pictograms that unmistakenly represented-

"The Parasite." Laccabeus murmered.

Indeed, several misshappen figures resembled forms of the Flood, while also showing them in conflict with these other beings. With a sneaking suspicion about what this place had contained, Laccabeus nevertheless shook himself out of his musings as he approached the pedastal.

When the _Eye's_ Luminary had detected a Forerunner signal buried on Endor, the Shipmaster couldn't help but get a feeling of elation and curiousity. While he and his crew had given up the Covenant religion, even a small Forerunner artifact could be a significantly important find, and help galvanize his forces.

Now looking at the empty pedastal, Laccabeus knew he had gotten his hopes up. There likely had been something important here, but clearly, someone else had been here first and taken whatever artifact had been here. And judging by the heiroglyphs around them, he had very good idea as to who it was.

"My brothers," The Shipmaster's voice echoed through the chamber, with a note of resigned sadness. "It appears that the Republic has already recovered the artifact here."

There were shouts of outrage and sadness as the gathered guards took in the fact that the child was still obstructing their Shipmaster, this time without him even realizing it. Some were tempted to tear out his spine, but even they knew that was a foolish idea that would only get them killed, which only discouraged them even more: They couldn't even do anything to avenge this slight against their leader.

Enraged, one Brute angrily walked up to the pedastal and kicked it, accidently shattering the stone structure. This proved to be a grave mistake. The nearby statues shifted, the glowing blue lights in their eyes and body shifted to red.

Energy beams emerged from the red eyes, striking the offending Brute head on. The blast was powerful enough to tear apart the Jiralhanae power armor, and reduced the offending warrior to ash.

"Retreat!" Laccabeus shouted. "Back to the entrance!"

A second blast tore through another Brute as the rest retreated. Quickly, the small force made it back outside, avoiding the energy blasts emenating from the clearly Chozo-designed statues.

"Seal the cavern!" Laccabeus ordered.

The Lich turned and presented its focus cannon to the mouth of the cave. Upgraded with the same firepower as a Scarab walker, the beam of plasma tore through the rocks, collapsing the entrance and sealing the ruins.

...

It was a silent trip back to the _Intention's Eye_. None of the Sangheili or Jiralhanae wanted to say anything, lest they make their leader's mood worse. Laccabeus had hoped that whatever they found would give him and his crew purpose. Something to actually do.

Sure, they would be content right now with hunting the inhabitants of Endor, but that would only last for so long before they would long for something more. The fact that his crew never complained during the several decades they spent hiding from the interdimensional governments showed how loyal they were to him, and Laccabeus desperately wanted to return the favor.

Now though... he wondered whether he and his troops were just destined to fade into obscurity, forgotten by everyone in the multiverse. He snorted inwardly: D'ranna's words had affected him more than he cared to admit.

"Shipmaster!" His reverie was broken by the sound of the Lich's communications officer. "We're getting reports from Commander Erda 'Renad; they've detected Imperial signatures on the planet." There was a slight pause before he spoke again. "Also, our new allies have unintentionally revealed the presence of Terminus mercenary groups on the planet."

"Well, it appears we have a new foe." Laccabeus had a ghost of a smile on his face. "Send word to all forces. These threats will fall under the power of the Covenant!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, now this is the start of a brief crossover with my other story "Omega Chronicles." How does it relate? You'll have to read them to find out.


	7. Conflict Arises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I know it's been a while since I posted to this story, and a lot of things have happened in the meantime. For starters, I've already written what is technically a sequel to this; Atmos Campaign, for those who don't already know about it.
> 
> Now, even though this isn't even finished, that story really doesn't have any major spoilers for this one, so if you'd like to read it, feel free. And if you have read it, well I hope you enjoy this one anyway.
> 
> Also, I should mention that this chapter has narrative ties to my other story Omega Chronicles, and one of the chapters in my compilation Catalog of War (wow, lots of continuity in one chapter), just in case you were wondering about some of the dialogue and story here.

On the other side of Endor, dozens of colorful-armored figures swarmed around the forest. Several of them stayed back to guard their ships, which had landed in clearings in the woods. A couple Mantis gunships flitted in close proximity and altitude to the LZ, providing overwatch for any threats that came near.

Among the various soldiers, whispered conversations could be heard. Rumors abounded about why they had been assigned here as various mercenaries set to work on maintaining their vehicles and gearing up.

"Did you hear about what happened?"

"At the Cerberus station?"

"Yeah. Rumor has it that Maul was there himself."

"That's nothing. I heard they encountered a Spartan."

"No way! A fucking Spartan?!"

"Bullshit."

"Honest to god, it's true."

"How are they still alive?!"

"They're just that good."

"Oh, really? I heard they ran like cowards."

"Against a Spartan? That's the only option that makes sense."

These were the rumors that ran rampant through the ranks of the mercenaries. Still, they were professional enough to keep doing their jobs, as they turned the formerly abandoned Death Watch bunker into their latest staging area.

Here, they were preparing for a major slave raid against the inhabitants of this planet, particularily the Ewoks. The little furry creatures had made effective unwitting suicide bombers during the Zann Consortium's height, and now the Shadow Collective was willing to try that experiment again.

Inside, Bamak sat on a crate in the Death Watch bunker, with several other Blue Sun soldiers either relaxing or working. Blasters had been issued to the most elite units of the mercenaries, while others had to make do with what they had. Nearby, Eclipse soldiers were unloading their mechs and equipment, while the Blood Pack were prepared to do battle. Eventually, Bamak couldn't take it anymore.

"Why the hell are we all out here?" He asked no one in particular.

"Because the rest of the Shadow Collective is busy dealing with Cerberus, and we have enough manpower to do this job." This came from a Blood Pack krogan sitting nearby, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, I know." Bamak huffed. "It was a rhetorical question. I just want to get off this stupid planet."

"Then why don't you take it up with Lord Maul?" The krogan smirked. "I'm sure he'll be happy to... accomodate you."

Bamak froze and backed down, eliciting snickering from those nearby. Then a younger human voice broke out;

"Wait, why ask Maul? We work for Aria, don't we?" This drew laughter from everyone within earshot.

"You haven't been here long, have you kid?" The krogan retorted.

"What are you talking about?" The young merc asked.

"Aria isn't in charge of us, kid." Bamak explained. "It was the Shadow Collective who recruited all of us, and it's Darth Maul who's got the real power."

"But Aria is the one who heads Omega... and controls the crime trade." The kid protested. Bamak snorted.

"Maybe on paper. But that Sith is slowly taking over the criminal underworld."

"Trust me, kid." The krogan interjected. "Aria T'Loak's days are numbered."

"And I'd rather be on the winning side," Bamak said. "Than join with that asari."

"A wise call." A filtered voice rang out through the air, causing everyone to turn towards it.

A squad of Zann Consortium soldiers and slavers entered the bunker, led by a red-armored Defiler. Several of the soldiers were carrying disrupters, which (while still illegal) had become much more widespread due to the existence of the Flood. The armed mercenaries were directly working for the Zabrak Sith Lord, and several had brought in their own hunting vornskrs.

As the canines entered, they drew some growling from the Blood Pack varren and responded with growls of their own. Before the two canine species could go at each other's throats, their handlers held them back.

While the three merc companies had landed here with the Consortium, Black Sun's ships had landed near their own bunker some distance away. Of course, none of them had any actual capital ships, as that would draw too much attention from the IDA.

Still though, considering Maul commanded the combined military forces of the Black Sun and the Zann Consortium, Bamak wondered why the Sith Lord even bothered with recruiting or enslaving anyone else to his cause when he could just annihilate them outright.

"Alright you maggots," The Defiler said. "Get your gear together and load up. We move out in five."

Unfortunately, the Shadow Collective forces on Endor didn't have much in the way of warships or orbital support. But they did have several transports worth of armored vehicles, including M-080s, Makos, swamp speeders, Missile Attack Launchers, Cloaking transports, Mobile Pulse Cannons, some MDUs and a pair of Canderous tanks.

All of these vehicles set off into openings in the underbrush, most escorted by infantry. Unfortunately, they didn't have much in the way of air support, but the MALs would counter any possible air attacks.

_But from what?_ Bamak wondered. This all felt rather excessive for a simple slaving run on a primitive world like this. Granted, his people had done far worse in the name of making a profit from slaving, but this was still rather overkill. The only explanation that made sense were the rumors about ONI actively hunting Darth Maul down.

The Batarian felt a chill run up his spine at that thought. He'd hate to have to go up against the UNSC's best and most infamous. He knew enough about the Spartans to know that they were something to be feared, and if rumors about ONI's 'interrogation methods' were true, they crossed lines that even the worst Batarians wouldn't dream of doing.

Shaking out of that distressing train of thought, Bamak made his way to his assigned APC and got in with the rest of his squad. Minutes later, the M-080s and cloaking transports were on the move in their own convoy, while the smaller vehicles ran escort.

The convoy moved out at relatively quick pace, all the while many of the soldiers were getting the feeling that they were being watched.

* * *

Miles away on the opposite side of the forest, Imperial landing craft deployed dozens of black armored Shadow Troopers, Terror Troopers, Dark Troopers and Storm Commandos.

These were not the average forces of the Imperial Remnant. These were the soldiers of the First Order, a Private Military Corporation based under the trappings of the former Galactic Empire. Founded after the end of the Second Galactic Civil War by Snoke, one of the surviving members of the assassins personally trained by Darth Vader, their ultimate goal was to eventually restore the Empire to its rightful place in the galaxy.

Of course, that goal was stymied by the fact that they were able to get so few recruits, and more difficulty was provided when the multiverse was opened up to the galaxy. Naturally, this made things more difficult, but Snoke was nothing if not adaptable, and incorporated his plans to include the rest of the multiverse as well. But that was still a long ways away. For now, there was this mission.

The soldiers of the First Order were outfitted with the elite armor and weapons of the Empire's most fearsome soldiers, and were given the training of such. They had also reactivated several remaining Dark Troopers, and put them to work serving them.

Still, the soldiers of the First Order needed more 'real' training, and what better place to do that than the planet and the inhabitants that were responsible for the death Emperor Palpatine and the collapse of the Empire.

Captain Phasma, leader of the First Order's ground forces, grimly smiled under her Shadow Trooper helmet as she thought about why they had come here. The reasons for coming here was twofold:

The First Order troopers would get some training with minimal chance of discovery from outside forces, as well as learn not to underestimate their opponents. Secondly, it would allow them to scavenge any leftover technology that was still on the moon.

Of course, the Shadow trooper commander couldn't deny the catharsis of dealing with the creatures that had brought down the greatness of the Galactic Empire in the first place. The Ewoks deserved to burn for that insult.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a Storm Commando contacting her. It was one of the scouts she had sent ahead to recon the forest and ensure that those none of the Ewoks were preparing any sort of ambush.

"Report."

"Captain, I'm getting readings of active technology on the planet." The scout said. "I don't think we're alone on this world."

"Can you identify them?"

"Some of it appears to be old criminal technology." There was a pause. "I'm also detecting traces of element zero as well."

That was surprising. Element zero meant Mass Effect technology. They were a long way from home, that's for sure. Of course, that meant these were scavengers or mercenaries, looking for the same things they were. Quickly, she activated her comlink.

"General Snoke, it appears that there are offworld elements on Endor as well. Likely to scavenge some of the remaining technology."

"Well that won't do at all." Snoke replied. "Continue with your mission, Captain. Give our soldiers some real combat."

Phasma grinned behind her silver helmet. It seemed this training mission would be more interesting than they thought. "Yes sir." Turning off her comlink, she activated her speaker to address the gathering around her.

"Listen up!" She called, halting everyone in the vicinity. "It appears we have some scavengers on this planet, some of whom are from the Citadel galaxy." There were hostile murmers at that. "The mission has changed, we will have hostile elements against us, but it matters not! We will show these thugs what the First Order can do! Move out!"

There was a rush of activity as everyone began moving to their positions, arming themselves, checking their vehicles and weapons. There was a sense of unease that what was supposed to be a relatively easy semi-training mission would be a much harder fight than they had previously thought, but Phasma was looking forward to it.

This could actually be an interesting challenge. She knew that the newest recruits were nervous, but what better way to help them adapt than by getting their baptism by fire to use an old Earth term. If some of the soldiers didn't come back, then they were unworthy to have been recruited in the first place.

One by one, the soldiers and vehicles began moving towards the trees, repulsor tanks clearing a path for the AT-KTs that had been brought for this mission. Storm Commandos on speeder bikes shot ahead through the forest, finding the best route through the undergrowth.

Whoever was on the world had made a big mistake. The First Order would make sure that whoever was on this planet would regret ever coming here. With a grim smile, Phasma checked her weapons and readied herself for the coming battle.

* * *

Half an hour later, three large figures stood observing the path created by the movement of a small army. After scanning to make sure no one else was nearby, the three beings had decloaked to conserve power, revealing two Sangheili and one Jiralhanae. The Elite clad in silver Ascetic armor crouched down and looked at the tracks.

"It appears you are correct." Halmat murmered, running his hand through the flattened plant life. "We're not the only visitors to this world."

"Shall we alert the Shipmaster?" The Jiralhanae questioned.

"Yes, we must make sure he knows what has taken place here."

Suddenly, their comms crackled and the voice of Erda 'Renad came through the radio. "Commander Halmat, we're getting readings that Imperial signatures are nearby your position."

"We've found evidence to indicate the same." The Spec Ops commander replied. "I was about to inform the Shipmaster."

"The Shipmaster is aware of the situation." 'Renad replied. "He is gathering forces to deal with this nuisance, but he wishes to know what we're up against."

"Very well, I shall scout ahead personally. We will send our findings to him."

Halmat had just shut off his comms when the sound of blasterfire and explosions overtook the ambient sounds of the forest. After checking the position of where the rest of his soldiers were, Halmat was both relieved and confused when he saw that the fighting was nowhere near the rest of his soldiers.

Ordering them to stay put, Halmat gestured to his two escorts to activate their cloaking devices, and the three of them made their way towards the source of the battle. The trail of fallen trees and scorched plant life indicated they were going in the right direction, and the three Covenant warriors paused when they saw who was fighting.

"Well now, what do we have here?"

* * *

Phasma took cover behind a nearby fallen tree as blaster bolts and mass accelerator flew overhead. Explosions erupted all around them as the forces of the First Order returned fire, already destroying several APCs.

It was only a few minutes ago that the First Order had encountered what appeared to be the forces of the Shadow Collective and the Blue Suns, Blood Pack and Eclipse, and so far it wasn't great for either side.

Missiles launched from Storm Commandos had been able to bring down the Mantis gunships before they were even aware of what happened. But the criminal forces had retaliated with carbonite missiles launched from their MALs, which literally froze the scouts in their tracks.

The conflict between the First Order and their opponents was heating up, but Phasma was thankful it wasn't the full strength of the Zann Consortium or Black Sun. For their decades old black market technology, it was still surprisingly advanced... for their galaxy anyway.

Terror Troopers sycthed through the jungles, their cloaking devices combined with their Kaleesh war masks and the way they just seemed to teleport around the battlefield struck fear into the members of the Shadow Collective.

Imperial-model Mobile Defense Units opened up and unfolded, revealing their unique configurations, in contrast to the Consortium's own MDUs. AT-KT's made their way through the forest, their unique design able to stand up to the inhabitants of Endor in ways the original AT-STs were unable to.

Vorcha armed with flamethrowers began burning their way through the woods, starting brush fires all over the place. Considering the hellish war between the factions, no one really cared. At least, no one from the Military factions.

All over the forest, the native inhabitants were reacting to the conflict between the First Order and the Shadow Collective in a really predictable manner: some chose to fight while the majority of them just ran, chased by blaster fire and mass accelerator rounds from some of the bored mercenaries.

One group was slightly braver and much more stealthy than the rest. Four Sanyassan Marauders watched as the battle between the criminal factions tore its way through the Ewok population. Normally, they would've been laughing and jeering at the forest inhabitant's misfortune, but the fight was a reminder of the time when the white-armored invaders took over, and now with the aliens that had leveled their fortress, this was just more bad news.

Reluctantly, the Marauders chose to retreat, but their lack of discipline or experience in actual warfare drew the attention of two experienced Batarian Blue Suns mercenaries. Turning to the disturbance with his weapon drawn, Bamak recognized the Sanyassans for what they were. They were uncouth and rather feral, but their technology actually had a chance of harming them.

With that in mind, Bamak and his partner sent a barrage of mass accelerator rounds at the Marauders, catching two of them in the chest while the other two briefly looked at their wounded comrades in horror before deciding to retreat. Seconds later, the two Batarians finished the wounded Sanyassans off before turning their attention to the other two.

The Sanyassan Marauders fled into the forest, chased by mass accelerator fire. Bamak laughed; those savages at least had intelligence to know when they were beat. Their primitive swords and axes were no match against the armor of each PMC, and their blasters were outdated in comparison to even the black market weapons held by the more elite of the Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack, let alone the Zann Constortium.

The two Sanyassans retreated into the dense forest, and Bamak, bloodlust up, gestured to his partner to follow. They ran through the forest, chasing at the heels of the fleeing Marauders. Hearing their prey grow closer, they rounded a tree-

And ran right into a massive figure, mandibles flared and energy blade ignited.

It was an Elite, one dressed in old Covenant garb. Behind it, Bamak could see a Brute and another Elite holding the Marauders by the head. With a crunch, the massive aliens turned the heads of the Marauders into a pulpy mass.

Before Bamak or his partner could even scream, the Sangheili warrior decapitated them both with one swing from his energy sword. As the bodies fell to the ground, another Elite decloaked nearby, this one clad in silver Ascetic armor.

"Fall back." The silver Elite ordered. "We have what we need."

* * *

Laccabeus was standing in the middle of the camp underneath the _Intention's Eye_ , rallying his forces for the potential trouble. Standing off to the side were the forces of CAT6 and the Athame Sisters, who looked distinctly uncomfortable at everything going on. It was at that moment, Halmat called in, with Laccabeus and his nearest guards listening in.

"Shipmaster, we have found mercenary forces in conflict in the forest."

"Identification?" Laccabeus asked.

"We can't confirm, but we have reason to believe they're working for or with the Shadow Collective."

At that, Laccabeus felt his blood boil at the name, and from the senses around, it had a similar effect on the rest of his guards. It had been a piracy fleet under the command of the Shadow Collective that had stranded the _Intention's Eye_ on that planet all those years ago.

The carrier had ultimately destroyed the fleet, but damage from the battle had kept the ship there until the arrival of the mercenaries. Laccabeus had every intention of repaying the Shadow Collective in blood for their transgression.

"All Banshees head in first." Laccabeus ordered before contacting the _Eye_. "I want a flight of Seraphs to bomb the area once the Banshees report troop positions. Once that's done, ground forces will move in and pick off the survivors."

"Understood, Shipmaster."

"Listen up!" Laccabeus shouted. "The forces of the Shadow Collective are in our midst." There was a roar of anger at those words. "It's time to take our vengeance against those thugs for their transgressions. We move out, now!"

There was a collective battle cry at his words, and the troops started mobilizing with a renewed fire. As they did, Laccabeus became aware as Sato walked up to him. "So, where do you want us?"

"You want to assist us?"

"We have no love for the Shadow Collective." Sato replied. "If you're going to hurt them, count CAT6 in."

"Very well, then." The Shipmaster gestured to their tanks. "Try to keep up."

Laccabeus then gave the order for his Lich to return, intending to lead the battle personally. Chieftain Wrakus joined him, hefting his fuel rod gun. Once onboard, the two Chieftains stood at the edge of the troop bay, silently watching as the forest flew by.

* * *

At the knowledge of the Shadow Collective's presence, both D'ranna and Sato were filled with rage, albeit for different reasons than Laccabeus. The Athame Sisters and CAT6 had watched as Darth Maul's criminal syndicate had slowly but surely took over most other PMCs.

Because of Maul's new monopoly thanks to his control over the Blue Suns, Blood Pack and Eclipse, CAT6 and the Athame Sisters had struggled to gain any business of their own. In fact, it was because of this that both PMCs had been on salvage runs in the first place: they were that strapped for cash.

But both had different reactions: Sato intended to help fight the Shadow Collective, it was true. But while the Covenant were preoccupied, she intended to hijack one of the mercenary ships and leave this world behind.

D'ranna, on the other hand, saw the opportunity the Athame Sisters needed, and decided to stay put. With Laccabeus and his top commanders leading their army in 'glorious battle', the _Intention's Eye_ was ripe for the taking.

...

The soldiers of the First Order were facing a tough fight, but were ultimately getting the best of the Shadow Collective and their PMC allies. For all their technology and weapons, they were just criminals with guns, facing warriors hardened by Imperial-style training. On and on, the battle continued, drowning out any other noise in the vicinity. As a result, no one could hear the fighters approaching until they had dropped their payloads.

Plasma explosives scythed through the air, melting any tree branches and leaves in their paths. They came down hard on the lines of both forces, vaporizing dozens of soldiers in an instant. On the First Order side, the plasma bomb struck to close to one of the deployed MDUs, which overloaded and exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere.

More plasma bolts and green explosives followed in the wake of the first shots, stitching several soldiers and leaving them screaming in agony as their armor melted on to their skin.

Disoriented by the unexpected attack, the two sides stopped firing on each other, regrouping just in time for the massive bulk of a Scarab walker to crash through several nearby trees, followed by another of the walkers, with Covenant infantry and vehicles following in their wake.

With an animal-like roar, the Scarab's focus cannon scythed through the trees and the underbrush, carving a path through the forest, as well as any enemy forces unfortunate enough to be caught in the beam's path. This allowed infantry forces to advance easily and unhindered through the woods.

Plasma mortars blasted through the forests, vaporizing leaves and branches as they fell. Fortunately for the two mercenary forces, the shots were off by a considerable amount, with minimal casualties.

One AT-KT bravely (or stupidly) attempted to halt the Scarab's advance, firing its main blaster cannons at the Covenant vehicle. This only succeeded in mildly pockmarking the purple hull and gaining the Scarab's attention, which promptly obliterated the Walker's head with a single stream from the focus cannon.

On the Shadow Collective's side, a pair of Mobile pulse cannons fired a shot each into the other Scarab. That the Scarab withstood an attack that could bring down an AT-AT was telling of the Covenant walker's resiliency.

Annoyed, the Lekgolo aboard shook off the damage and charged the main cannon. A stream of plasma discharged into the leftmost pulse cannon, its shields holding for a second, but ultimately collapsed under the barrage, and the vehicle itself was reduced to a pile of molten slag.

The second pulse cannon moved away as the focus cannon targeted it, managing to escape with its shields low, but otherwise intact. That changed when a lucky plasma mortar from a nearby Wraith impacted the tank head on, igniting the main reactor.

The Wraith's victory was short lived, as a barrage of rockets from a Zann Consortium MAL hit the tank's main hull, shattering it and igniting the volatile plasma mortar just as it discharged. The resulting fireball consumed the tank and several soldiers who were too close when it exploded.

Ghosts and Choppers moved to the artillery piece in question, running down any infantry that got in their way. The smaller vehicles harrassed the larger one, wearing it down with plasma bolts and autocannon shots until it was nothing more than scrap metal. With that done, the Ghosts began chasing down some nearby speeder bikes, while the Choppers moved elsewhere.

It was at that point that the Covenant infantry had joined the battle with the forces of the Shadow Collective and PMC. The result was brutal for the mercenaries. Sangheili and Jiralhanae literally tore their opponents apart at close range, with Spec Ops forces taking down the heavily armored Dark Troopers and countering the stealthy Terror Troopers before they even knew the aliens were there.

At range, it was more fair, with the Storm Commandos proving to be just as adept at sniping as the Kig-Yar. Still, with their armored forces destroyed, the Shadow Collective and First Order were facing a losing battle.

Laccabeus watched from his position above the forest as his forces were decimating those below. He didn't know who those Imperial soldiers were, but they were an obstacle which needed to be removed. Once that was done, the Shadow Collective would be ripe for the taking.

It was proving to be a very good day.

* * *

D'ranna and her asari commandos made their way through the now empty halls of the _Intention's Eye,_ heading directly to the bridge. It had been easy to get up the gravity lift, as they told the sole Unggoy guard that they needed to grab their own weapons... which were already on the surface.

Shaking those amusing thoughts away, the ex-Spectre focused on the task at hand. They hadn't exactly been given the grand tour of this vessel, but she had been able to study what little the Council could learn about the Covenant, which included basic ship design philosophy.

Like most Covenant ships, the bridge was located in the heart of the vessel, to protect it from all but the most critical of attacks. Unfortunately, the ship was simply a maze of purple corridors, with no signs or anything that would indicate which way the bridge was.

Eventually, they came to a four way intersection, where all the other doors were locked. "Now where do we go?" One of the Sisters asked. D'ranna was about to reply when the door ahead of them opened up, and a red and black armored Chieftain walked through, pausing when he spotted the asari.

"What are you doing up here?" The Chieftain demanded. In response, half of the Sisters raised their weapons and the other half flared their biotics.

"We're taking the ship." D'ranna declared. "You will help us get to the bridge, or we will kill you where you stand."

To their dread, Makterbus only smirked at the threat. "No, you're not."

At his words, the nearby doors opend up, and two dozen heavily armed Sangheili and Jiralhanae ran into the room, with their weapons raised and aimed at the asari. Before they could even think about retreating, a pair of thunderous footsteps came from behind, and several asari turned to see a pair of Hunters cutting off their retreat, with their shields raised and assault cannons aimed.

"Did you really believe we wouldn't notice your little plot?" Makterbus laughed. "And I thought you Asari were patient. Drop your weapons, or you will be cut down where you stand."

D'ranna hesitated, fearing for the lives of her Sisters, who she had blindly led into this trap. On one hand, if they dropped their weapons, the Covenant forces could just open fire and kill them all. On the other hand, if they had wanted them dead, they would've shot them already.

Either way, resisting didn't do much good when the Covenant could easily break their defenses and their own could hold against the asari's. She grimaced, asari commandos were the best warriors in their galaxy, but even they couldn't do a whole lot with their backs against the wall. The Reapers had shown them that the hard way.

Hesitantly, D'ranna placed her gun on the floor and put her hands in the air.


	8. New Targets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, well here's the next chapter of Intention's Eye. The three way battle between the Covenant, Shadow Collective and First Order reaches its climax. What will happen next? Well, read on to find out.

Captain Phasma watched as the Shadow Collective forces all but disintegrated under the combined assault of the First Order and Covenant troops. All their artillery was wiped out and they were left with a few scattered speeders and surviving infantry, leaving Phasma feeling grim satisfaction.

Of course, she would be more satisfied if she didn't have to fight these Covenant at the same time. They had primarily focused their efforts on the Shadow Collective, but had no hesitation in targeting her troops as well.

Even now, they turned their barrage towards the First Order lines, Phasma not even flinching as a plasma mortar landed several dozen meters away. Return fire took down some infantry and vehicles, but the damage was minimal to the Covenant as a whole.

As for the Scarab, they might as well have been throwing rocks at it for all the good their missiles were doing. Her tactical musings were interrupted when one of her soldiers came up to her.

"Ma'am, our saboteurs report that they've found the Shadow Collective landing site."

Phasma smiled behind her helmet. "Give them the order. Don't let them leave here alive."

"Yes ma'am. And what of these Covenant?" The soldier hesitantly asked.

Phasma looked back to the battle, as a Banshee airstrike annihilated one of their hovertanks. While both the First Order and Shadow Collective had only sent small regiments, it appeared that the Covenant were here in force. There was no way the First Order could fight them all off.

"Everyone else, regroup." She ordered. "We're scrubbing this mission."

* * *

It was a terrible situation for the forces of the Shadow Collective. Between the forces of these Imperials and the Covenant that had appeared out of nowhere, the criminal alliance was getting hammered by both sides.

Already, most of their armor and air support was gone, leaving them with a few light vehicles and infantry, which wouldn't last long under the onslaught of these dedicated war machines. All they could hope to do now was run.

The Defiler led his forces back towards the landing zone, hoping to get off this planet before they sustained any more damage. As soon as they closed to the makeshift camp, the warrior activated the holoprojector, creating a hologram of their master, the Sith Lord Darth Maul.

"Status report."

"My Lord, we've suffered heavy casualties." The soldier replied breathlessly. "We're under attack from some sort of Imperial PMC, along with a faction of Covenant!"

"Are they working for ONI?" Maul asked.

"No sir. They appear to be hostile towards each other as well. But we can't sustain these losses. We're going to have to scrub the mission."

"That is... unfortunate." The Sith sighed. "Very well. Retrieve what you can and return to base."

"Yes, my lord. We'll-" The Defiler was interrupted by some sort of explosion off to the side. Pulling out his blaster, the soldier screamed. "Take them down! Take them down!"

A roaring blue armored Elite broke through the defenses as the holocomm shut down. The Defiler unleashed a burst of blasterfire that drained the Sangheili shielding considerably, then a single frag grenade finished it off.

More Covenant poured through the camp opening, causing the surviving Shadow Collective forces to flee as the alien horde rushed through the makeshift buildings, cutting down every soldier and droid that still remained behind.

The Defiler led the retreat back to their bunker, as the Covenant forces plowed through their forces. The soldiers were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned against such a large force, and it appeared their Imperial opponents weren't doing much better against them, seeing as they appeared to be in full retreat.

He had no idea where they had come from, but it really didn't matter right now. This mission was clearly a failure, at a time when a significant amount of the Shadow Collective's military forces had been annihilated by ONI and the UNSC. Lord Maul was not going to be happy.

But the Defiler would deal with that when he came to it. First things first, they would have to get offworld. Rallying the remaining soldiers, the red armored soldier ordered them back to their ships, which the rest of the mercenaries were all too happy to comply with.

So naturally, that was when he got a transmission from the guards that their ships were under attack. The more hysterical of the soldiers, consisting primarily of Blue Suns and Eclipse forces, rushed to the ships, only to run into the crossfire between their guards, and what appeared to be CAT6 mercenaries.

The Defiler was confused by their pesence amongst all these other factions, but ultimately pushed those thoughts aside, and led his troops against them, making a break for their vessels.

One of the CAT6 mercenaries was a powerful Biotic, tossing their guards aside with a clear determination to take their ships. The pilots had other plans, activating the weapons and targeting the attackers.

A heavy laser cannon ripped the attackers apart, and forced the biotic and the rest of the CAT6 forces into cover. This gave the rest of the Shadow Collective forces time to retreat to their own vessels as the Covenant began making their way into the landing site.

Strangely, the aliens didn't fire on the CAT6 forces, in fact, they seemed to be aiding the mercenaries. Plasma, needles and spikes flew through the air, tearing the Collective forces apart in a constant crossfire.

By now, it appeared that the Imperial forces were all but gone, leaving the criminal organization facing the brunt of the Covenant's wrath. And wrath was an excellent word, as there seemed to be a level of maliciousness to this assault that went beyond simple bloodlust.

The battle was really heating up when all of a sudden, every ship on the landing zone suddenly exploded one by one. The combatants who weren't immediately incinerated were sent flying by the shockwave, which was the case of the Defiler as well. He hit a nearby wall and blacked out.

...

When the red armored soldier woke up in a daze, he took in the scene before him. Dozens of Covenant soldiers were sweeping the wreckage, with Drones, Grunts and Jackals tearing the ships apart, clearly looking for something. CAT6 soldiers were present as well, strangely working alongside the Covenant in their search.

Overhead, a Lich hovered, its gravity lift in place to deploy its forces. In the center of the landing pad, one Jiralhanae stood out among the rest. He was a Chieftain, that was clear by his ornate armor, but even besides that, he was clearly taller than the rest of the Jiralhanae.

Having taken stock of his situation, the red armored soldier concluded that he needed to leave, and quickly. But, as the Defiler slowly shifted, he couldn't help the pained groan that escaped his lips. Unfortunately, an Unggoy heard it as well.

"We've got a live one!"

The Defiler quickly reached for his blaster but when he tried to lift it, the weapon wouldn't budge. It soon became clear why when a Sangheili foot shimmered into view on top of the gun. The Elite's other foot lashed out and gently kicked him, causing the soldier to see stars in his vision. When the dizziness cleared again, he found himself being held in the air by the leader of the attack, the Chieftain's claws wrapped around his neck.

"Well, this is a fortunate day." The Jiralhanae growled. "A Defiler, one of the Shadow Collective's more important agents. You will be instrumental in leading us to Darth Maul."

At that thought, the Defiler's conditioning kicked in. Every Defiler went through training that made them thoroughly loyal, originally to Tyber Zann, but now to Darth Maul. They would serve the Sith unconditionally, and would rather die than betray him.

"I will never betray my Master." The Defiler mumbled, and quickly bit into the cyanide capsules implanted in his teeth. A crude but effective method. As the cyanide entered his body, the Defiler managed to say one last thing before everything went black.

"For the Shadow Collective."

* * *

Laccabeus snarled in frustration and tossed the body aside. He had ordered that his forces take the soldiers alive, in order to learn the location of Darth Maul, but the sudden destruction of their ships had killed most of them (not to mention his own men) before that could happen.

Then, just when they happen upon a survivor, the man kills himself to avoid having to talk. It seemed that Maul was either that terrifying to them, or the soldier had been extremely loyal. Either way, it was a loss of a valuable source of information.

"Scavenge the computers and see what you can find." Laccabeus ordered the nearby technicians. "The rest of you, figure out what happened to these vessels." He gestured to the dozen burning hulks that surrounded them.

The surrounding soldiers immediately moved to follow his orders, leaving the Shipmaster to stew alone in silence. Eventually, his comm unit began indicating an incoming transmission, which the Chieftain immediately answered.

"Report, Makterbus."

"The asari have been returned to their cells." His second in command replied. "They will be waiting for you to decide how to deal with them."

"Good." Laccabeus paused, then asked another question. "Were you able to trace the Imperial exit?"

"Yes Shipmaster, it's faint but I believe we would be able to track them if need be."

"Good, we will keep that option in mind." Laccabeus hesitated, then gave one last command. "Ready the ship for takeoff, and begin packing up our heavy equipment. We may need to leave soon."

"Your will be done, Shipmaster."

Laccabeus shut the comm down and sighed inwardly. It was pointless to stay here anymore; the Forerunner signal turned out to be worthless, one of their captured PMCs had attempted to betray them, and judging from the frustrated noises coming from the camp, they had lost any lead of figuring out where the bulk of the Shadow Collective forces were. There was little reason to stay on this world anymore.

"Shipmaster!" Someone shouted, as Laccabeus turned to the source, he saw one of his Jiralhanae officers sprinting towards him. "We've figured out what happened to the Shadow Collective vessels. They were sabotaged."

"That figures." Laccabeus murmured. It seemed unlikely that the destruction could've been wrought by anything else, but it payed to be thorough. "I'm assuming those Imperials were the culprits?"

"In all likelihood." The Jiralhanae replied. "They were very thorough as well. We can't access the ship computers for any information."

Laccabeus snarled, clenching his fist. These Imperials, this 'First Order' had bloodied their noses and cowardly retreated once they had, denying his army the rightful retribution they deserved. This transgression would not go unpunished.

Laccabeus now had a new target, one which would no doubt galvanize his crew. It was something to focus on, an enemy to fight, an enemy to crush underneath their heel. One way or another, the First Order would suffer for this.

It was at that moment that Sato and her forces reappeared. They had been scavenging through the remains of the Shadow Collective forces, looking for ways to keep their home equipment running. It seemed that they were finished with that.

"What's our next move?"

"We're leaving this place." Laccabeus replied. "Gather any equipment you may require." He turned and headed back to his Lich. "In the meantime, I need to take care of something."

* * *

D'ranna woke up in a cell, in the same holding area she had been led to when the Athame Sisters and CAT6 had been imprisoned in when she was first brought onboard. Once more stripped of her weapons and equipment, and clad only in the heavy armor plating, the ex-Spectre rose to her feet.

One of the first things she noticed was that every asari in the cells across from her had some sort of strange blue and violet collars around their necks. Upon a quick inspection, D'ranna found the same thing around hers. She tried to pull it off, but it was stuck fast, and wouldn't budge.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Startled, the asari saw that Laccabeus had arrived and was standing in front of her cell. "D'ranna, D'ranna. You disappoint me. I offer you food, shelter and a purpose in life, and in return you attempt to take over my ship."

D'ranna defiantly remained silent, which didn't bother Laccabeus at all. "Fortunately for you, I've decided to grant you and your asari one last chance to prove your worth to me." D'ranna couldn't help the expression of surprise that appeared on her face, which the Shipmaster easily picked up on.

"Do not mistake my mercy for stupidity." Laccabeus warned. "Try that same stunt again, and you will not live for very long."

To demonstrate the point, Laccabeus pulled out a strange device and hit a button on it. In the cell opposite one of the collars on an Asari began beeping. Seconds later, she was consumed in a blue explosion which briefly blinded the witnesses. When their sight returned, there was no trace of the asari victim.

"Any attempt to remove the collar will trigger the same reaction." Laccabeus said. "Do you understand?" D'ranna nodded reluctantly. "Good. Now, I'll let you stew on this for a bit." Laccabeus walked away, leaving the asari to stay in their cells.

...

Several hours later, the _Intention's Eye_ had picked up all its soldiers, equipment and all the salvaged technology they had recovered from the Imperial bases on the planet. Once they were onboard, the ship lifted off into the sky, setting course for the same coordinates the First Order had left towards.

They left behind a planet ravaged by the conflict, with many inhabitants dead on all sides.


End file.
